• DHL Supply Chain North America donates USD $1M to fund curriculum
• Recent data reveals women only account for 41% of the workforce in the supply chain industry, with women holding only 15% of executive roles in the sector*
• Collaboration will help close STEM gap and ensure women are represented in the future supply chain workforce

DHL Supply Chain, the Americas leader in contract logistics and part of DHL Group, announced a partnership with Girl Scouts of the USA that will establish a program and branded patch to empower Girl Scouts to learn about the importance of the supply chain industry and discover a myriad of exciting careers in the field.

DHL Supply Chain has been a longstanding supporter of Girl Scout councils throughout the U.S, including providing local mentorship opportunities in several cities including Columbus, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan. As the company looks to expand its support of the organization, it has committed $1 million.

“We are proud to expand our relationship with Girl Scouts of the USA. Entrepreneurship is a pillar of the Girl Scout experience and we’re excited to show Girl Scouts the ins and outs of supply chain and logistics, while exposing them to career paths in the industry,”

said Scott Sureddin, CEO, DHL Supply Chain, North America.

“We want to build on their aptitude for logistics and, through mentorship, show them real examples of women and men who have built successful careers in the field.”

“We continue to look for innovative ways to engage our employees in supporting the company’s diversity equity inclusion and belonging efforts. Our robust Women in Supply Chain (WISC) Employee Resource Group will play an integral role in executing the volunteer program and partnership with local Girl Scout troops,”

he added.

DHL Supply Chain and Girl Scouts of the USA will collaborate on developing and piloting the skills training program with at least 10 councils from 2023 to 2024. The patch program will become available to Girl Scout troops across the United States in 2025 and 2026.

Related Article: DHL Global Forwarding Records Increasing Demand for Sustainable Transport Solutions

“We greatly appreciate DHL’s commitment to Girl Scouts and are thrilled to be working with them to prepare girls to lead in this important field,”

said Bonnie Barczykowski, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA.

“Girl Scouts offers girls opportunities to explore subject areas they might not be encouraged to in school and learning all about career pathways in supply chain and logistics enables them to see the possibilities that are out there to become leaders in a field they may have never imagined.”

“Programs like the DHL skills logistics and supply chain pilot will help us to invest in the future of girls who want to become tomorrow’s leaders in these in-demand, STEM careers,”

said Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland CEO Tammy Wharton.

“We are grateful for DHL’s support and proud to launch this program here so girls from across Central Ohio, and soon the rest of the US, can embrace new opportunities and lay the foundation for a better economic future.”

Actively investing in future supply chain leaders

The partnership with Girl Scouts of the USA joins a long list of efforts DHL Supply Chain has undertaken to identify and foster the next generation of supply chain professionals. In 2022 the company announced its DHL Supply Chain Future Leaders Scholarship which provides scholarships, each year, to students across 11 universities studying supply chain management, IT, packaging or finance programs. The company also makes annual corporate donations to support four U.S. University Supply Chain Centers of Excellence which bolster student programming and support faculty research in supply chain.

Additionally, DHL Supply Chain has hosted an internship program for over a decade. In 2022 alone, DHL Supply Chain’s world-class program provided 237 students with a 10-12-week intensive experience, including professional development, a collaborative capstone project, and networking. The capstone project gave the interns an opportunity to work together to solve current business issues and present their findings to business leaders at DHL Supply Chain’s North America corporate headquarters. At the end of the program in 2022 more than half of students accepted full-time positions with the company post-graduation.