Senior leaders came together today (6 March 2025) to celebrate the launch of ‘The Food Business Charter’ – a commitment to achieve 40% female representation across the global food chain by 2035.
The charter was developed by Meat Business Women in collaboration with founding signatories from 20 leading businesses across food production, retail and foodservice at an exclusive event hosted by former NFU lead, Baroness Minette Batters, just a few days before International Women’s Day.
The follows a decline in female representation in the meat industry, with numbers dropping to 33.5% from 36% in 2020; and represents a defining move from senior F&B leaders to address gender imbalance.
An Action Planning Toolkit is to accompany The Food Business Charter, providing companies with practical strategies to achieve the initiative’s ambitions.
“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,” commented Laura Ryan, global chair and founder of Meat Business Women.
This isn’t about setting targets – it’s about transforming our industry’s future to ensure it remains profitable and sustainable.
Laura Ryan, global chair and founder of Meat Business Women.
“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,” she added.
Today’s event saw senior leaders signing the pledge and officially committing to close the gender gap in food. Founding signatories of the Food Business Charter include: ABP Food Group, Australian Meat Processor Corporation, Australian Meat Group, Avara Foods, Cargill PLC, 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, Tesco and Thomas Foods.
The Food Business Charter also gained a letter of support from HRH The Princess Royal.
Host and sponsor, Baroness Batters, who is a beef farmer and the first women to have led NFU in over 100 years, said the charter marked a “critical milestone” providing a “much-needed framework for enabling and empowering women to progress their careers in the meat industry”.
Ryan added: “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.”
