Last week UKWA submitted a comprehensive response to a call for evidence from the APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group) for Freight and Logistics on the question of workforce diversity in the sector.
MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth Rachel Taylor, who spoke at our conference earlier this year, Chairs the Group and is a great advocate for our sector, so I’m delighted that she, in consultation with other parliamentarians and officials, trade associations including UKWA, and employers in warehousing and logistics, will be draughting a new report on fostering diversity in our workforce against a background of worsening skills shortages.
Most people know that this is a subject dear to my heart. As a co-founder of Women in Logistics, and indeed the first female CEO of UKWA, I am vocal on the benefits of diversity to business – not only the value of female voices in what has been a traditionally male dominated industry, but the wider contribution we’re missing in failing to attract employees from more diverse groups, from different ethnicities to wider age ranges and socio economic backgrounds.
In our response, UKWA has attempted to shine a light on the key challenges specifically faced by the warehousing sector (over 400,000 people representing over a third of the entire freight and logistic workforce) when it comes to attracting, training and retaining diverse talent.
While gender distribution in our sector is gradually improving – roughly 76% of freight and logistics employees are male according to 2022 ONS data, and the warehousing sector actually does pretty well in regards to ethnicity when compared with the broader sector and total UK workforce, workers with disability account for around only 15% of the freight and logistics workforce, again according to 2022 ONS data.
On all counts, we should and must do better.
Barriers to attracting diverse talent are varied. Influencing factors include outdated perceptions of the industry, difficulty in accessing funded training through the apprenticeship levy, the school curriculum and pathway guidance, not to mention competition with other sectors with similar entry requirements, technological advancement and skills gaps, which all play a part.
The Employment Rights Bill 2025 looks set to help address some of the issues faced by women, particularly relating to flexible working hours, parental leave and work/life balance. It includes a stronger duty to prevent sexual harassment and a requirement on employers with more than 250 employees to publish annual gender pay gap reports.
While disability and ethnicity pay gaps are not yet compulsory, these measures seem firmly on the agenda.
Meanwhile, as the trade association for UK warehousing, we will continue to make our voice heard on the issue of diversity and have taken practical ‘real-world’ steps to address some of the barriers.
Last year, our Year of Warehousing campaign was directly focused on raising awareness of the important role of warehousing and the fast-moving, high tech operating environment in which we work. Similarly, the widely acclaimed Warehouse Manager CPC training course aims to highlight the clear career development opportunities our sector has to offer.
The UKWA Awards for Excellence 2025 not only recognised outstanding achievement amongst members but flew the flag for the entire sector in the wider context, as recognised by our celebrity host Rob Rinder in a gratifying tribute to the ‘unsung’ who quietly serve our nation and ‘wrap a cloak around the UK economy.’
‘I’ve come to learn what you do and how essential it is,” he said. “I will be shouting about it from the rooftops!”
The call for evidence on fostering diversity in the workforce will inform the draughting of a new report authored by the APPG and published later this year.
Clare Bottle
UKWA, CEO
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