News

Business charter aims to increase female representation in food industry

Industry insiders have developed a Food Business Charter to raise the number of women working throughout the global food and beverage (F&B) industry.

On 6 March 2025, F&B leaders met with the UK government at the House of Lords to launch the global Food Business Charter. Announced ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, the Charter creators strive to increase female representation to 40% across the global food chain by 2035.

Described as representing “a watershed moment for gender balance in the sector”, senior leaders met to announce their strategic commitment, which is dedicated to tackling gender imbalance within the food sector as well as attracting and retaining talent in the industry.

Creating an equal seat at the table

The Food Business Charter comes following a 2024 industry roundtable that emphasised the urgent need for action to address the gap between female and male representation across the global food chain. Today, women only hold 8% of the world’s CEO positions in the food industry.

Indicating a deeper problem, the roundtable highlighted how female representation in food has decreased in recent years. Today, women account for just over a third (33.5%) of employees in the meat industry, for example, compared to the 36% that had positions in the sector in 2020.

Improving female representation in the workplace creates better business results, opportunities, and profitability. According to Meat Business Women, companies with over 33% female executive committee members have over ten times higher net profit margins than those without women at this level.

Pursuing progress in diversity and inclusion

A decade ago, Meat Business Women emerged to inspire and grow the number of women in the meat industry. In a significant milestone that strives to achieve gender equality in the food sector, the network’s new initiative coincides with Meat Business Women’s 10th anniversary. Although the network states it has made incredible progress in building a community, elevating voices and making real change, it has recognised that progress is not moving fast enough.

The global network teamed up with signatories from over 30 food manufacturing and retail foodservice supply chain businesses to create the Food Business Charter. The Charter acts as a strategic initiative that stands for ambition, accountability, and action. It strives to progress gender equality within food and ensure attracting and retaining talent is a core requirement.

“This Charter, backed by major global and European food manufacturers, retailers, and food service businesses, demonstrates our industry’s collective determination to remove barriers and create meaningful opportunities for women at all levels,” said Laura Ryan, Global Chair and Founder of Meat Business Women.

The Food Business Charter’s founding signatories include: ABP Food Group, Australian Meat Processor Corporation, Australian Meat Group, Avara Foods, Cargill, Cranswick, Dunbia and Dawn Meats, Finnebrogue, Greencore, Hilton Foods, International Procurement and Logistics, Kepak, Lumachain, Meat & Livestock Australia, Minerva Foods Australia, Myton Food Group & Morrisons, OSI Europe, Sofina Foods, Tesco, and Thomas Foods.

The statutory levy board, AHDB, which is funded by farmers, growers, and supply chain stakeholders, is also one of the new Charter’s signatories. “We believe that an inclusive and gender-balanced workforce is essential for innovation, sustainability, and the overall success of the global food sector,” said Angela Christison, Pork Sector Director at AHDB. “Our own workforce has a great balance of women at all levels of the organisation and so we are confident to commit to this Charter and reaffirm our dedication to attracting and retaining diverse talent,” added Christison.

Pushing the needle beyond metrics

As part of The Charter’s roadmap towards better inclusivity and gender equality, Meat Business Women have devised an Action Planning Toolkit, in collaboration with experts. It aims to provide companies with practical strategies to help reach the Charter’s goals. “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,” Ryan added.

The Charter exists to surpass achieving certain metrics. “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,” Ryan added.