Interview with Heather Howska

Heather Howska Women in Supply Chain. Learning from Industry Leaders

September 2021

My career in supply chain has been a process of discovery, starting with self education in a field that I didn't even know existed when I was in college. It was only after I committed to gaining my CPIM that I discovered I had already been working in the front end of supply chain while managing inventory and staff for 10 years! I'm now in aerospace and face exciting challenges and learning new things every day in the parts planning capacity of my company's supply chain for contractual support. Teaching and training others in my work group and mentoring students has brought more job satisfaction than any other aspect of my career, and I feel that moving forward this will play a larger part in my roles.

I don't believe that my challenges as a woman have been unique to supply chain, but they have definitely been an impediment when trying to move up in my career. As the James Brown song goes, "This is a man's world." I've experienced numerous female managers that use aggressive 'male behaviors' that quite frankly made them bullies. Also, I could write a dissertation about the experiences as a woman with lower pay rates, sexual advances and assaults, and disrespect due to my gender. My advice in a nutshell is to hope you never experience the types of discrimination but to plan for the reality of it in your workplace incase you do.

To be a successful woman in the workplace you have to be seen as a balance of smart, strong, and caring; but why should you have to when a man doesn't have to have these same qualities? My ideas for improvements in supply chains always make them more efficient, realistic, and cost effective than current systems in place. Explaining my ideas and getting buy in from male management for me has always required a delicate balance between softer 'feminine' people skills and my more forceful 'masculine' confidence for success. However, as soon as my ideas are perceived as a threat to the power of a man in management instead of an improvement for the greater good of the company, my ideas are shut down simply because I am a woman and they want to display their authority over me. When I compare these experiences at the start of my career in the early 2000's to the present day, I do see a lot of improvement and inclusion for women and other diverse groups in the workplace; but I still see a long way to go for workplace equality.

My people skills have been my biggest asset in becoming a leader in supply chain, the relationships I have developed over my career have also been paramount to my success. Staying in touch with select people from high school, college and former workplaces has been helpful beyond belief. Often these people become your sounding boards for how to navigate workplace issues and help you move your career forward.

Developing a balance between "soft skills" you don't usually learn in school (effective communication, patience, empathy, and genuine interest in people) and the "hard skills" you usually do learn in school (project management, technical understanding of systems and products, financial statements and cost accounting etc) is very important. With this balance you are able to appeal to both the psychological and organizational needs of your management team and the teams you supervise. Accountability for yourself and having the same high standards for yourself as you do for others is very important as well to your good reputation.

With all of these people skills and relationships already in place, it is easier to navigate the minefield of the workplace when something goes wrong. Despite how hard places try, there is the danger of retaliation in many forms once you make a complaint. One has to weigh up the options of discussing your issue privately directly with the person it involves versus going to your manager, to HR or to an outside entity (regulating body or legal help) and the potential repercussions that could be experienced for each of these options. When you have put the work into your relationships with people prior to an issue occurring, it is usually more clear to you as an individual which path is going to get you the results you want and gives you an idea of possible repercussions. For example, my reputation to follow through was important when I had to say to a former manager, "You are paying me, a woman, a dollar less an hour than you are paying my male coworkers for exactly the same position. I want an apology, a raise and back pay or there will be further consequences." I received my apology, all my back pay, and a dollar an hour raise with no further difficulties. However, the repercussion I suffered because of this was being left out of future department planning meetings. Needless to say I didn't stay with this organization much longer due to their work culture.

Advice

Always take additional work opportunities that come your way, even if they don't come with an immediate increase in pay. The pay increase for the skill you learned may come with a promotion in your current organization or your next job at another company.
Take all education opportunities from your employer; remember how much you paid for your education and anything that is free or even partially covered by your employer is worth it! The industry changes rapidly and staying on top of changes (both software and concepts) will keep you at the top of the field. If your employer doesn't offer education consider finding it for yourself through ASCM, WERC, CSCMP etc. Membership is a tax write off!
Keep your arrogance in check! Yes you know a lot, but so do many other people. Many times you can gain knowledge from them that compliments what you already know. On the flip side, don't treat people who don't know as much about supply chain as ignorant. This is an amazing teaching opportunity for you to show what you know by teaching someone else, but first, evaluate if the teaching moment is welcome to them. When you elevate others you elevate yourself and the entire organization as well. 4.
Move away from the mindset that something is "beneath" your skillset. For example, working or shadowing a front-line shift with a worker to gain an understanding of the issues they face can foster your understanding of how to make their position more efficient within the context of the supply chain. When I supervised at a casino, I would train with staff when new equipment arrived like pressure washers or keg lifts. While this was outside my duties, I would be able to fill in during a busy time and could then train new staff on the correct way to use this equipment as well. Treat every person with thoughtfulness and respect as they are all an important part of your supply chain!