Dubai based last-mile logistics Company Mara Xpress aims to set the right example by promoting gender inclusiveness in-house. Within one year of launching, 25 percent of Mara Xpress employees are said to be women and the company has also created a unique all-female courier fleet consisting of seven women delivery Xperts.
Although gender equality has come a long way over the last fifty years, complete equality in economic and political terms is yet to be achieved. The logistics and infrastructure industry employs predominantly more men. The traditional perception of the logistics sector is that most work undertaken is stereotypically masculine, with moving, lifting and long distance driving involved.
Mara Xpress arrived in the region on the 7th February 2016 with a bold mission of setting a new benchmark in last-mile logistics. It is a customer-centric platform that, unlike its competitors, offers same or next day delivery, 3-hours delivery time slots, real-time tracking, ETA alerts and state-of-the-art volumetric weight calculation. Since launch, Mara Xpress has delivered over 200,00 packages, created 186 jobs and achieved an average 85% in-window success rate.
CEO of Mara Xpress, Jeremy M Skyrme emphasized, “The female delivery Xperts have added an excellent balance to the delivery fleet and much needed due to the nature of our business delivering to homes across the UAE. Women receiving E-Commerce parcels at home prefer and feel more confident when receiving a package through the Mara Xpress Female fleet. On top of this the women are outperforming the male Xperts and our best delivery Xpert Miss Chenith was recently promoted to Team Leader. I’m proud of our diversity and achievements to date.”
The logistics industry has been growing at a rapid pace as the UAE positions itself as more of a global hub. According to research consultancy Solidiance, the logistics market within the six GCC counties was worth US$47 billion in 2015 and the UAE’s market alone reached $10 billion in 2016. With such a thriving industry that is still projected to grow, women can have lucrative career paths in logistics, if the opportunities and necessary trainings are provided. Dorothy Bernado, one of the first employees at Mara Xpress describes her experiences as a woman in logistics.
“In a world with a mindset that women are not as capable of doing tough work as men, there is no day that I have felt dominated. Mara believes in gender equality and strives to give equal opportunities and respect to all, despite gender, I am very proud to be a part of a company that promotes gender diversity. In my opinion, women excel in this male dominated industry because we are naturally good in communication, multitasking, and time management. These are our natural instinct, that’s our edge.”
