Gender balance at senior level in the meat industry has seen an improvement, but the total number of women in the global workforce has dropped, a new report says.
The meat industry has made progress in shifting the dial of women’s representation in senior leadership roles since the initial report was published in 2020.
Women now make up 23% of board-level director roles, up from 14%, 32% of high-level leadership roles, a rise from 22% and 32% of middle-manager roles, up from 29%.
The global report, which draws on data from more than 50 meat organisations employing 250,000 staff, was commissioned by Meat Business Women, a professional community for women working in the industry,
It highlights progress against priority themes, with positive shifts in how the industry is perceived, repaired rungs in the senior-leadership career ladder, moving inclusion up the agenda and greater access to role models and networks.
Despite this progress, the research shows that only 8% of CEO roles are held by women, a rise from 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 shows, revealing that the gap between the most inclusive and the least inclusive meat firms is widening.
Flexible working is ranked as the number one enabler of gender inclusion in the industry, and the report shows that toshift the dial, women and men need to work together to create a more inclusive future.
Meat Business Women's report sets out best practise against priority themes, while providing practical tools for businesses to adopt.
Founder of Meat Business Women, Laura Ryan said: “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.”
