A growing number of women are leaving careers in procurement and supply chain management, with 66 percent reporting gender-based challenges over the past year, according to a new report.
Procurious and the BRAVO Leadership Program surveyed 185 people to reveal the current state of gender equity within procurement and supply, with responses revealing a persistent lack of support, limited growth opportunities and systemic workplace bias.
The ‘2025 Women in Procurement & Supply Chain: Illusions of Inclusion’ report suggests women are being ignored or overlooked by male colleagues (34 percent), are having their ideas or work attributed to male colleagues (23 percent) and are being paid less than male counterparts for similar work (29 percent).
Over half of organisations (51 percent) report taking some action on gender bias, which is a small jump from 46 percent in 2022, but only 30 percent of women say these efforts are actually delivering meaningful progress.
The report reveals that a lack of opportunity to advance is the number one reason why women in mid-level roles are abandoning their procurement and supply chain careers (31 percent), with respondents claiming there is no clear path towards leadership positions, while others cite burnout from hostile work environments, caregiving responsibilities and unsupportive policies.
Interestingly, women are more visible than ever before in procurement and supply chain management, with the majority of women (68 percent) saying they look up to inspiring female leaders within their profession, but this is failing to translate into everyday life, according to the data.
Only 28 percent say their leadership teams are at least half female, while a similar number (27 percent) say women make up less than 10 percent of leadership positions within their organisations.
On the topic of burnout, over half of respondents (52 percent) anticipate return-to-office mandates will result in increased stress and more work-life conflict, with almost a quarter (23 percent) saying they fear they will have to change jobs or leave the workplace entirely.
This is magnified by policies that have failed to materialise, with just 21 percent of organisations implementing a formal gender equity strategy to support women (up from 14 percent in 2022). A further 42 percent have no gender equity strategy at all and 53 percent have no supplier diversity initiatives in place.
The report underscores a critical disconnect between public commitments to diversity and the lived experiences of women in the industry, with warnings that companies risk losing high-performing women unless they address gender equity and nurture female talent at every stage.
Women listed their top priorities as strong leadership training, mentoring networks and closing the pay gap, yet the report found insufficient leadership development and training programs, ineffective mentorship and networking opportunities, and a largely unaddressed gender pay gap.
“We’re seeing forward momentum, but too slowly,” said Procurious Founder Tania Seary.
“Until equity strategies and supplier diversity policies become table stakes rather than nice-to-haves, we’ll continue to miss out on all the value that a diverse workplace delivers.”
The Procurious report is backed up by a recent report from Gartner and AWESOME, which revealed female representation has declined at all management levels in the supply chain workforce.
The ‘2025 Women in Supply Chain Survey Report’ painted a bleak picture with “few bright spots”, according to Gartner, suggesting a recent reversal of previously seen gender diversity progress.
“What is the cause of the sharp downturn in most of these results? A drop-off in supply chain’s direct commitment and leadership to developing and progressing women,” said Gartner.
“Our results show that, on average, CSCOs are still, in general, committed to DEI. But they are no longer specifically committed to it or accountable for it, and it shows. Should this continue, we expect flat at best and possibly softer pipelines in 2026 and beyond, and a real struggle in general to attract and retain women, but also Gen Z in general and all employees of underrepresented backgrounds.”
