A global report commissioned by the trade organisation Meat Business Women has concluded that the meat industry has made progress in women’s representation in senior leadership roles since the initial report was published in 2020.
According to the new report women now make up 23% of board-level director roles (up from 14%), 32% of high-level leadership roles (up from 22%) and 32% of middle-manager roles (up from 29%).
The report highlights positive shifts in how the industry is perceived in the senior-leadership career ladder.
However, despite this progress, the research also suggests that only 8% of CEO roles are held by women (up by 3% since 2020) and the number of women in the global workforce has dropped to 33.5% (down from 36%). According to latest indicators women now make up 36% of the unskilled workforce, falling from 40%.
Laura Ryan of Meat Business Women commented: “The data tells us that inclusion is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’, but rather a necessity if the meat industry is to thrive in the years to come. Whilst there is greater disparity in the industry than there was in 2020, there is a huge opportunity for further pre-competitive working on best practice and key workforce policy issues. There has never been a more important time to remember that a rising tide lifts all boats.”
The Meat Business Women strategy has been focused on ‘shifting the dial’ on the priority themes of industry perception and gender balance.
The report draws on international data from over 50 meat organisations employing almost 250,000 staff, interviews with senior HR and operational leaders, focus groups of women working in the industry, and survey responses from 400 women and men.
Celebrate success at the November Women in Meat Industry Awards ceremony
The next annual Women In Meat Industry Awards ceremony will take place in London on 17th November organised independently by Meat Management magazine.
To book tickets or for information click here.
To see a short film from the 2022 ceremony click here.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
