Tamera Fense is the Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO) for the Kimberly-Clarkwho manages a large global team of 22,665 employees – about 58% of the CPG manufacturer’s global traverforce. He oversees the optimization of the company’s entire supply chain, from raw materials for Kimberly-Clark Products including Kleenex and Huggies, to deliver the final product to customers’ shopping carts.

This is a job that is essential to most of the top businesses that operate on such a large scale; about 422 in wealth 500 have chief officers in the chain, According to a 2025 Spencer Starart Analysis. However, most of these slots were given to white men; Only 18% of executives in this position are women, and 12% are from disadvantaged backgrounds and ethnic backgrounds. It is one of the C-Suite roles with the least female representation, next to chief financial officers, chief operating officers, and CEO.

In fact, Fenke is one of 76 Fortune 500 female executives with “Chief Supply Chain Officer” on their resumes. However, the executive spoke wealth It’s an unfortunate fact that he “doesn’t think about” very often – if anything, it motivates him.

“Whenever people tell me I can’t do something, it makes me want to work harder to prove them wrong,” Fense said.

The first time Fenke noticed her was one of the few women in the room

Fenke has spent her entire life navigating male-dominated subjects — something she didn’t consider until college.

His father, aunt, uncle, and grandfather all worked for bow Chemical, so he grew up in a very heavy home. Of course, he also leaned into math and science, eventually pursuing a bachelor’s in chemical engineering at Michigan Technical University. It was then that her eyes first opened to the reality that she was a little girl in the room.

“It really goes to Michigan Tech, where I first learned the difference,” Fense said, adding that there is an eight-to-women ratio. “As you progress to higher levels and grades, you will become more and more specialized in your engineering.”

When joining the world of work, it’s not just fenke who notices the lack of women in senior roles – some bosses will even point out.

The Fortune 500 boss pays it for both men and women

After Fenke graduated from Michigan Tech, he started his $91 billion manufacturer 3m: a multinational conglomerate that makes everything from post-it pads to rolls of scotch tape. Fenke was first hired as an environmental engineer in 2000. Promotion after promotion came, but everyone seemed to focus on her gender.

“It was bright when I moved quickly moved up the ranks. Some of my bosses would say, ‘You are the first of my daughter or in this part. Over the course of 2 decades, she rose through the ranks of the company to SVP in the US and Canada Moodfacturing and Chain Chain.

And any time she was asked about her gender? They flick their questions while standing on their land. “I always test it a little bit and ask them questions like, ‘Okay, so what’s your daughter doing?

Now, three years into her current stint as Kimberly-Clark’s CSCO, the 47-year-old is paying it back—but not just with the women who followed in her footsteps.

“I don’t see myself as having to be a big, pioneering ground-breaker, even if the statistics tell you,” said Fenke. “I’m trying to give back to women and men, to be honest. Because I think people are too. That’s why I think that we need to teach the same lenses and different perspectives.”