The Female Power List

Two lists that really stood out were wholesale and meat. The enthusiasm and passion these women have about their industries was infectious. Both lists have strong gender diversity networks that are thriving in a traditionally very male-dominated environment. In addition, they are inspiring the next generation of female leaders and changing the shape of the talent pipeline by sharing why they love working in their industries and making it clear that there are incredible opportunities available for women.

 An example of some of the incredible initiatives taking place is the 'She looks like me' global campaign created by Laura Ryan - Chair of Meat Business Women, which recognises the idea that it is difficult to aspire to be something you can't relate to. This shines a light on the female leaders within the meat industry and gives other women aspiration role models. 

With the environment list, one fascinating takeaway was the correlation between performing well in gender diversity and having a strong ESG agenda. This is something that we see in both business and politics. After the Paris Agreement, companies with a greater gender diversity saw 5% greater reduction in their CO2 emissions compared with other businesses, and studies show that countries with more women in parliament have stricter climate protection policies and lower carbon emissions. 

The area where gender diversity is improving the quickest seems to be manufacturing. Mars currently has 43% of leadership position held by women, Diageo has increased female board representation from 44% to 64% in recent years, and at Unilever 54% of managers are women.

However, the manufacturing list also shows that there are still blockers to forwarding female advancement in more junior roles that could potentially stem from a lack of young girls and women electing to do STEM subjects and thereby following an engineering-led career in manufacturing. This shows that it is not just the corporate world where change needs to happen, but also that change starts within education.

Although there is still work to be done to improve gender diversity across all of these industries, there is also a huge following of people who are taking part in growing female talent and making the change happen. From being inspirational role models to creating awards to recognise women, and even being coaches and mentors to women in business, the women celebrated in these lists really are storming the way to help us all create better gender diversity in the food industry.

We are looking forward to continuing to spotlight the issues and celebrate successes in these areas, and create opportunities for women to grown and develop and create a strong network to support everyone to reach their full potential.