20 February 2017 (Dubai, UAE)

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 per cent of Mara Xpress employees are 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 136 jobs and achieved an average 85% in-window success rate.

CEO of Mara Xpress, Mr 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. Im 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 UAEs 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.

Dorothy, like many female employees in logistics performs better when encouraged through recognition, challenges, and merits, she adds; In fact most of the winners of the Mara Pride program are female and the lady deliver Xperts are the "rock stars" in the field. Its great to see that the perception is changing and logistics companies are hiring more women.

In order to attract and develop womens participation in the logistics sector, advocacy and a change of perception has to be made. Industry leaders have made a conscious effort on initiatives and programs on the part of organizations to drive this change in perception.  Representation matters in all sectors of society and women must be encouraged and provided with the right environments and tools to thrive. 

Ms. Ahuti Chug, Executive Director of Mara and Board Member at Mara Xpress highlighted the importance of integrating more women in leadership positions. Logistics is all about getting the job done and done on time, and for this to happen, you need variety in the skills and expertise of the team. I strongly believe that women bring in a healthier and balanced work environment resulting in positive impact to the growth of the organization. Our female employees have assimilated incredibly well, both within the fleet and operations team. In fact the majority of the women delivery Xperts within our fleet are top performers.

In line with efforts by the UAE government to empower women and launch gender initiatives such as the new Gender Inequality Index, Mara Xpress aims to be as visionary as its home. On a global scale, Mara is a firm believer in Sustainable Development Goal 5 to achieve gender equality and empower women and girls.

Mara Xpress is a sister company of the Mara Group, an African conglomerate with interests in technology, financial services, infrastructure as well as a non-profit social enterprise; Mara Foundation. Mara Foundation was created with an aim to empower youth, women and entrepreneurs through impactful and sustainable programs.

Mara Group and Mara Foundation are both founded by Ashish J. Thakkar; serial African entrepreneur and Chair of the United Nations Foundation Global Entrepreneurs Council, and author of The Lion Awakes: Adventures in Africas Economic Miracle.  

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For further information, please contact:
Mara Media
+971 4 275 2900
media@mara.com  
http://maraxpress.com/

Press Release 2017