Major food businesses including ABP, Avara Foods, Cranswick, Greencore and Hilton Foods, alongside Morrisons and Tesco, have signed up to a landmark charter pledging to increase female representation in the food sector to 40% by 2035.
Industry leaders gathered at the House of Lords yesterday (6 March) to launch The Food Business Charter, marking what organiser Meat Business Women described as “watershed moment for gender balance in the sector”.
Current female representation in the global food manufacturing sector stands at 36%, according to a Women in the Workplace study published by McKinsey & Co last year.
Total representation in the meat sector, meanwhile, stood at 33.5% in 2023, according to Meat Business Women, a professional community for women in the meat industry.
While senior leadership representation had risen, this figure had fallen from 36% in 2020, due to what MBW global chair and founder Laura Ryan said were the aftereffects of the Covid pandemic, coupled with “not enough encouragement, sponsorship and support”.
Many women did “not naturally push themselves forward past entry-level roles”, she added.
The new charter, therefore, aimed to set clear guidelines – with the buy-in of 20 founding signatories – on how to address the issue, said Ryan.
The initiative reflected a “strategic commitment from senior leaders” to tackle gender imbalance “and the attraction and retention of talent into the global food industry”.
This was a “defining moment in our industry’s journey toward gender equality and a major milestone for our 10th year of Meat Business Women”, Ryan said.
“Working with senior leaders who understand the benefits of a gender-balanced workforce, we’ve created not just a vision, but a practical roadmap for change.”
The charter, backed by major global and European food manufacturers, retailers and foodservice businesses “demonstrates our industry’s collective determination to remove barriers and create meaningful opportunities for women at all levels”, she added.
The initiative will be accompanied by an Action Planning Toolkit, designed in collaboration with diversity and inclusion experts – providing organisations with “practical strategies” to achieve the charter’s ambitions.
“This isn’t about setting targets – it’s about transforming our industry’s future to ensure it remains profitable and sustainable,” Ryan said.
“The charter provides a framework for organisations to implement practical talent attraction and retention strategies, share best practices, and create lasting change. With the support of our industry partners, we’re confident we can achieve sustainable change.”
Meat Business Women will formally report on progress every three years by conducting independent research across the food sector, starting in 2026.
Former NFU president and now cross-bench peer Minette Batters – who sponsored the launch event – hailed the launch of the charter, announced in the run-up to International Women’s Day on 8 March.
“As a female beef farmer myself and the first woman to lead the NFU in 113 years, I’m delighted to sponsor the launch of the charter. I believe it marks a critical milestone in providing a much-needed framework for enabling and empowering women to progress their careers in the meat industry.”
Jamila Gordon, CEO and founder of Lumachain, the event sponsor, said: “The meat and food industry suffers from a chronic shortage of employees, as do the industries that support it, including technology.
“Making sure women are fully represented and can thrive at all levels is vital for these industries’ future, and to ensuring we can continue to put food on our tables. The Food Business Charter is an important step in supporting this process, and Lumachain is committed to it.”
The Food Business Charter has also gained a letter of support from HRH The Princess Royal, who is a long-time supporter of Meat Business Women.
The founding signatories of the Food Business Charter are: ABP Food Group, Australian Meat Processor Corporation, Australian Meat Group, Avara Foods, Cargill, Cranswick, Dunbia & Dawn Meats, Finnebrogue, Greencore, Hilton Foods, International Procurement & Logistics (IPL), Kepak, Lumachain, Meat & Livestock Australia, Minerva Foods Australia, Myton Food Group & Morrisons, OSI Europe, Sofina Foods, Tesco and Thomas Foods.
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