Founder, Umanshi Marketing, Tamanna Gupta, reveals her journey to becoming a marketing leader, the challenges she had to overcome, and how other women can do it too.

Tamanna believes logistics is not the only industry that is primarily male-dominated. ”Unfortunately, gender inequality in the workforce starts from the beginning, with fewer women completing college degrees, particularly in STEM fields. Thankfully, with the rise of new-age tech-enabled start-ups and more globaliSed work culture, women are making their presence felt across various industries, including logistics.”

She has worked with inclusive companies like Allcargo Logistics and Emiza Supply Chain, whose founders were progressive enough to appoint her to senior positions. “However, I experienced gender discrimination while working at a regional distribution center in Delhi. A male junior resigned within a few weeks of joining because he did not want to
report to a woman senior. I chose to focus on being a competent, goaloriented professional. I earned the respect of my male colleagues and the clients and proved that gender should not affect anyone’s professional abilities.”

Tamanna thinks women don’t get any advantages while working in logistics. “Women have a disadvantage due to working conditions, such as the lack of separate bathrooms and safety concerns, especially in warehouses in desolate areas. I experienced safety concerns when working at a warehouse on the outskirts of Lucknow, where no transportation
was available after seven pm. I was forced to ride on the back of a warehouse in-charge’s bike through a dark, dangerous road.”

She shares that no genderrelated pros exist in any sector, specifically in Logistics. “Today, we are a marketing agency to 12+ logistics companies, including Liladhar Pasoo, Celcius Logistics, Alisped Logistics, Givven Logistics, and others. While we have only male clients and an all-women’s team strategizing and leading these accounts, none have made us feel
otherwise.” On assistance from business leaders, she shares, “As a marketing leader, I have seen that business owners, founding members, and leadership teams are more aware of the value that competent professionals can bring to their companies and are creating a gender-neutral work environment.”

Over the last decade in logistics, Tamanna has held diverse roles, from corporate sales to marketing communications. “As a marketing lead, my challenge was to educate the leadership teams on the importance of marketing and brandbuilding in the logistics industry. As sales head, I learned that good salespeople sell, but great ones show value.”

Ultimately, Tamanna is optimistic about the growth prospects in logistics, thus making it a great career choice for next-generation female professionals. “Don’t hesitate to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty because hard work is rewarded and respected across industries. I took on any task that needed to be done to achieve the company goals, whether it was visiting remote warehouses, personally meeting with customers in hot and crowded marketplaces, or even getting loading and unloading the trucks. At the end of the day, logistics is all about delivering, and who better than women to “deliver”?

First appeared on:- https://cargoinsights.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CI_March_2023_Website.pdf