Women in logistics and transport: they are almost rarer than white ravens. Especially when it comes to management and director positions. Fortunately, the tide is starting to turn, especially in family businesses where daughters are also given the opportunity to ‘stand their ground’. Three ladies fully applaud this trend: Susanne Snel, Evelien Putman and Liesbeth Van Raemdonck.
An article by Els Jonckheere
Truck & Business: What are the main challenges facing the sector today?
Susanne Snel: It has been a very volatile year, especially thanks to Trump’s volatility. The price war was worse than ever before, with competing colleagues even driving at the cost price. In short, an untenable situation – but fortunately we are climbing back out of this valley.
Liesbeth Van Raemdonck: Yet the challenges remain enormous. Margins are still under extreme pressure and finding qualified personnel has been a problem for years. In addition, the legislative framework is becoming a legal tangle in which few people can find their way.
Evelien Putman: The sector was faced with a difficult economic situation and rising costs in 2025. This resulted in restructurings and layoffs. At the same time, rapidly evolving customs and environmental legislation requires enormous administrative and digital efforts.
Thinking outside the box
T&B: Do you approach these challenges differently than men?
S. Quickly: “I think so: we think more from our gut feeling and perhaps also dare to think more ‘out-of-the-box’. In general, women work less from their ego, which means that there are often fewer major ‘blind spots’ in our thinking. This translates into listening more and less pretending that we have a monopoly on all the knowledge. For example, I am a great adept of scientific research and I want to look at things from multiple perspectives, including psychological and mental perspectives. This sometimes allows me to come up with solutions. something that the male colleagues had not even thought about.
E. Putman: My job is different from that of my two female interlocutors. I am attracted to family businesses as the person who has to put things in order and make tough decisions. In my initial phase I adopted a more ‘masculine’ attitude: tough and straight towards my goal. Over the years I have learned to follow my softer, feminine side: more intuitively, with greater attention to the personal lives of those involved – especially when it comes to layoffs. That feminine touch even helps me get things done more quickly and easily. Because there is involvement and also more open communication. The soft feminine does not mean that we are less decisive or efficient, but that we achieve our goals in a more human way and create more understanding. I often hear from men that they would like to have my antennas. They are even a bit envious of our intuition and our creativity to tackle certain challenges.
T&B: Do you have a hard time staying afloat in this man’s world?
S. Quickly: Not at all, on the contrary. This mainly has to do with the fact that I have obtained my CE driving license and all certificates, and now know the company well. If you demonstrate in meetings that you know what you are talking about, everyone quickly forgets that you are a woman. Ultimately, gender is irrelevant at management level: you make the difference with your knowledge and expertise.
Positive discrimination
L. Van Raemdonck: I really enjoy being a woman in a man’s world. In fact, we are positively discriminated against: if you have studied, obtained the necessary sector-specific certificates and possibly your driver’s license, then you know what you are talking about and as a woman you receive recognition and trust even faster than men.
E. Putman: The more you master the various tasks within the sector itself, the less you have to prove yourself. Admittedly, it still happens that I see men who don’t know me thinking: what is she doing here? I then let them talk and put solutions on the table, after which I come up with a solution that they had not even thought of. It feels a bit like ‘sweet revenge’ and it is a perfect way to claim your place as a woman. In the meantime, it is even a bit of a reverse world: I often experience men feeling uncomfortable in my presence. Of course I have built up a certain reputation… I can imagine that it is more difficult for younger women, especially as a ‘daughter of’ in family businesses.
T&B: Is it more difficult to gain the necessary recognition as a ‘daughter of’?
L. Van Raemdonck: I have never experienced it that way. My brother and I grew up in the business and started rolling up our sleeves in our teenage years. Although we were never pushed to actually get involved in the business, it was logic itself for us. And I imagine our employees saw it that way too. The fact that our generation is taking up university studies and aspires to a high position is perhaps more commonplace now than, say, twenty years ago. I have the impression that men – including workers – no longer have a problem with a female manager.
S. Quickly: A lot has to do with your own attitude. I certainly don’t want to profile myself as a ‘daughter of’, but want to leave my mark on the company and work on my career. It is not a job that we were offered on a silver platter, but a conscious choice to continue the company. That means: working hard and with that I also earn the appreciation of the employees.
T&B: What about you Evelien?
E. Putman: I myself came from the financial world and diplomacy, but I entered the world because my husband’s logistics company got into trouble. I knew nothing at all about this sector, which – admittedly – was in stark contrast to the way embassies work. Moreover, no woman had ever implemented a major reorganization in transport & logistics. So I did have to prove myself. But apparently I did that with verve, because the ‘greats’ in the sector were impressed. To such an extent that they did everything they could to recruit me, with the result that I am still active there fifteen years later. With great pleasure, because it is an extremely fascinating sector. That’s why I think it’s such a shame that ladies are still in a very large minority.
T&B: What do you think is the reason why women do not find their way into logistics & transport?
S. Quickly: Our sector is considered hard, difficult, stressful and, above all, incompatible with family life. It’s about a negative image and storytelling, which is a shame.
E. Putman: I am living proof that family life can be combined, because I have three teenage daughters. Of course it is not always easy, but that should absolutely not be an excuse not to aspire to a high position. It is also difficult – it is all about being creative with your time and not creating unattainable expectations, neither for yourself nor for your children.
‘Quality’ over ‘Quantity’
‘Quality time’ is much more important than ‘quantity time’. If you teach them this message, you will go a long way. Of course I’m not there to pick them up from school or help them do their homework, but this is how they learn to be independent. And I’m proud of that… You simply cannot be a full-time mom and a full-time manager. You have to be willing to accept that for yourself and that is sometimes the biggest challenge. Because women naturally want to be the perfect role model in all areas. Our problem is mainly our pursuit of perfectionism, but at the same time that is also a unique strength that we have to play to in our job.
L. Van Raemdonck: I recently gave birth to a son, so I still have to experience how the combination will work out in practice. Nevertheless, my husband and I talked about this a lot before the pregnancy. If you cannot divide the tasks 50/50, I think it would indeed be difficult to have a high position. Yet here too, a change is noticeable in our generation. We think less rigidly about male and female roles, which makes it easier for us to pursue our ambitions.
E. Putman: I hope times are indeed changing. Socially speaking, the combination of family and successful businesswoman is still not generally accepted. For example, I had to prove in court that I could be a good mother to my children after the divorce… simply because of my job!
T&B: Does family life also form a barrier for women who want to enter logistics & transport at other echelons?
E. Putman: You will mainly find women in departments where ‘soft skills’ are required and may be easier to combine with family life. I think of HR or marketing. They are rather rare among workers and drivers, perhaps due to the physical difference between men and women. We have to be honest: loading and unloading trucks requires a lot of strength.
L. Van Raemdonck: However, it is a particularly pleasant sector to work in as a woman. If you are good at your job, you get a lot of respect. You do have to be able to handle the stress. Women sometimes dare to underestimate themselves in this area – especially ladies with a family, they are used to combining a lot and looking for creative solutions. Roughly speaking, a dispatch position is tailor-made for many people!
T&B: Isn’t the image that you have to be a ‘man’s woman’ to work in this sector?
E. Putman: That may well be the case, but I would strongly like to refute this. I think this image is also closely related to the idea that women in our sector and/or at a high level should be strong feminists. Personally, I think that’s a terrible idea! Nothing is more attractive than gallant men who open the door for you and make you a coffee. Allowing yourself to be treated as a woman does not in any way mean that you are less ‘strong’. We must embrace our soft, feminine side at all times, because that is exactly our strength and what makes the difference.
T&B: Should the sector or education take more initiatives to convince women to choose logistics and transport?
L. Van Raemdonck: There is no lack of initiatives to put women in the sector in the spotlight. That is positive, but the balance must remain balanced. It is a bit twofold: on the one hand, I understand that this can motivate ladies to choose a career in logistics & transport – on the other hand, we would actually prefer not to be judged on our gender, but on our capabilities.
E. Putmans: We assumed that the new sector-related bachelor’s programs would have a positive impact, but unfortunately this is disappointing. However, I think this has more to do with the attitude of the young generation. I receive applicants who pretend to know everything because they have followed the training, while it is a sector where you mainly learn by doing. What bothers me even more are their unrealistic expectations about pay and work/life balance. Anyone who wants a 9 to 5 job, with lots of holidays and home work, where you can put in your hours on autopilot, should look elsewhere. Our sector is unpredictable, requires a lot of creativity and solution-oriented thinking, and a commitment that goes beyond office hours. But that is exactly what makes working in transport and logistics so beautiful and attractive. You also continue to learn every day, which makes you grow in your knowledge and as a person. Hopefully more women – and young people in general – will realize this and choose our sector en masse. After all, we do need new blood and – perhaps especially – the initiative and creativity of the new female generation.
S. Quickly: In any case, I personally believe that the way is open for women who want a challenging job in a particularly exciting sector!
The participants at the round table
- Liesbeth Van Raemdonck is a director of VRD.
- Evelien Putmans is general manager of Euroterminal Belgium.
- Susanne Snel is business process manager at Snel Logistic Solutions.
