Time to move beyond talk to solutions

Women in logistics need to speak more openly about their experiences and share the practical strategies that have helped them navigate demanding careers, according to Shevon Kotiah, brand ambassador for the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport South Africa (CILTSA). She said conversations about women’s empowerment had identified the barriers, but the focus now needed to shift towards how women could overcome them. “We can hold conferences and continue talking about the challenges, but the important question is how we change things,” she said. “Women need spaces where they can connect, speak honestly and learn from one another.” This will be a central focus of CILTSA’s fourth Women in Logistics, Transport and Supply Chain Empowerment Conference (WECON 2026), which takes place in Boksburg on September 18. Held under the theme Resilience Reimagined: Leading Through Disruption, the conference aims to create a space for much-needed dialogue for advancing gender equity. “South Africa’s logistics system faces infrastructure constraints, port bottlenecks, skills shortages, digital transformation and shifting market expectations, placing resilience at the centre of organisational success,” said Kotiah. “WECON 2026 offers a focused space for women to build the insight, networks and confidence needed to lead through these conditions and shape more competitive industries.” Speaking to Freight News, Kotiah said women often asked her how she managed the competing demands of career, travel and family life. Such questions demonstrated the importance of creating environments where women feel comfortable, admitting that they do not always have everything under control. “It is okay to say that you are not managing. You are not the only person who feels that way. When women begin talking honestly, we can start sharing how we have dealt with these situations and help one another find practical solutions.” These solutions could include establishing support networks, finding mentors and learning to distinguish between responsibilities that could be postponed and those that require immediate attention. Women account for only around 28% of South Africa’s transport and logistics workforce, while just over 4% of commercial truck drivers in road freight are women. Reports cited by the Vaal University of Technology indicate that women hold fewer than one in four senior leadership positions in the transport and logistics sectors. Statistics South Africa’s wider transport research shows that the share of black African women holding a driver’s licence rose from 9.6% in 2013 to 13.4% in 2020. These figures signal progress in participation alongside an urgent need to widen access to technical roles, business ownership, professional advancement and executive leadership. Kotiah said women should move away from the belief that there were only a limited number of opportunities available to them. This perception could create competition when collaboration would be far more effective. LV