Industry leaders gathered at the House of Lords on 6 March to launch The Food Business Charter with the ambition to reach 40% female representation across the global food value chain by 2035, marking a watershed moment for gender balance in the sector.
The Food Business Charter, developed by Meat Business Women in collaboration with founding signatories from 19 leading businesses across food manufacturing, retail and foodservice supply chain, was launched at an exclusive event hosted by Baroness Minette Batters DL.
The landmark initiative reflects a strategic commitment from senior leaders to address gender imbalance and the attraction and retention of talent into the global food industry. The initiative follows a Meat Business Women industry roundtable last year that highlighted the urgent need for action, with women representing just 33.5% of the meat industry workforce, down from 36% in 2020.
Laura Ryan, global chair and founder of Meat Business Women, said: “The Food Business Charter is a defining moment in our industry’s journey toward gender equality and a major milestone for our 10th year of Meat Business Women.
“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.
“This 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,” said Laura.
Greencore has pledged their support to the Charter by becoming a founding signatory, re-affirming their commitment to attracting and retaining talent in the food industry, whilst developing a balanced and inclusive workforce.
The launch event took place in a pivotal week, ahead of International Women’s Day with key industry leaders officially signing the Charter and pledging their commitment to gender balance.
Speaking about their commitment as a founding signatory, Dalton Philips, CEO at Greencore, said: “We are committed to building a team where women have equal opportunities to lead, innovate, and shape the future of our business.
“Success comes from having the smartest and most capable people in the room, and the broader the talent pool we draw from, the stronger we become.
“Our industry thrives on creativity and collaboration, and that means ensuring every voice is heard. Our commitment to The Food Business Charter is another step along our journey to make meaningful progress on representation.”
The Charter will be accompanied by an Action Planning Toolkit, designed in collaboration with Diversity & 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,” Laura added.
“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.”
Founding signatories of the Food Business Charter include, ABP Food Group, Australian Meat Processor Corporation, Australian Meat Group, Avara Foods, Cargill Protein, Cranswick Plc, Dunbia & Dawn Meats, Finnebrogue, Greencore, Hilton Foods Plc, International Procurement and Logistics (IPL), Kepak, Lumachain, Meat & Livestock Australia, Minerva Foods Australia, Myton Food Group & Morrisons, OSI Europe, Sofina Foods, and Thomas Foods.
For more information about Meat Business Women and how to sign The Food Business Charter, visit meatbusinesswomen.org/food-business/charter
– ENDS –
Organised by: meatbusinesswomen.org
Founded in 2015, Meat Business Women is the United Nation’s recognised global professional network for women working across the meat industry. It was created to improve the sustainability of the meat sector and grow the pipeline of female talent in this male dominated arena.
Meat Business Women released its Gender Representation Report in May 2023, which found that women make up 23% of board-level director roles, 32% of high-level leadership roles, and 32% of middle-manager roles.
Despite this progress, the research shows 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%). Women now make up only 36% of the unskilled workforce, falling from 40%. The Report can be downloaded here.
