New Zealand meat businesses urged to take part in gender equality study

Photo / FIle

Meat businesses in New Zealand are being asked to contribute to a global study that will create robust data on women in the industry for the first time.

The study will identify strategies for making the sector more inclusive.

Meat Business Women, the global networking group, has launched a survey seeking data on the number of women employed at different organisational levels and their level of pay, as well as barriers to career progression.

The findings will be published in a major new report on gender representation in the meat industry, to be unveiled at World Meat Congress on 12 June 2020.

Meat businesses from the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and the US will be contributing to the report.

Laura Ryan, chair of Meat Business Women, said the report was the first of its kind to measure gender diversity and career opportunities for women working in meat.

"We have long been frustrated by the lack of reliable data on women in the meat industry," she said.

"By taking part in our survey, businesses will help create much-needed clarity on the contribution women make across the supply chain – and, importantly, where action is needed to improve representation. We are calling on everyone in the meat industry to get involved and contribute to this important piece of work, to help make our sector more sustainable and profitable."

The survey will run from 16 March to 3 April and is open to companies from across the supply chain, including meat processors, packers, retailers, wholesalers and independent butchers.

Before going through the survey, it is recommended respondents have the following data to hand:

• The number of men and women at different levels in the organisation
• The percentage of women in each pay quartile
• The average age of women at the different levels
• Estimated staff turnover

"For the meat industry to remain successful in a tough market, it needs to attract the best talent and make the most of existing talent within its organisations," said Ryan.

"By submitting data for our state-of-the-nation report, businesses can play a vital role in identifying 'glass ceilings' and 'broken rungs', so we can remove barriers to gender equality together and set the meat industry up for long-term success."

Businesses should submit their responses here.