The meat industry needs to better showcase itself as an attractive career to secondary school students, the inaugural Irish Meat Business Women conference heard last week.
Delegates that hailed from companies in the meat industry right across the UK and Ireland were asked to brainstorm ideas that would encourage more women to consider the industry as a viable career choice. Other suggestions included creating a female mentoring network, offering work experience to students and to develop specific training and coaching options for women in the industry.
The aim of Meat Business Women is to develop the image of the meat industry to make it more attractive to female talent, as well as helping new female entrants in the sector through networking, education and mentoring. 
Last week’s event in Dublin was the first one in Ireland for the network, which has grown from the UK to Australia and New Zealand. Key speakers included CEO of Bord Bia Tara McCarthy and CEO of Dawn Meats Niall Browne.
“I’m a firm believer in not waiting for change to happen to you, but to take hold of the challenges we face and to create opportunities from them,” Niall Browne told the conference.
“The meat industry, I believe, will continue to be an exciting and fun place. But only by remaining true to your purpose and company culture in the face of adversity will opportunities be realised and a sustainable future be secured for your business and yourselves.”
The majority of CEOs (82%) in the food and drinks industry believe their business is challenged in attracting, retaining and developing staff, according to a diversity and inclusion study carried out by Bord Bia and Aon last year.
Across both male and female employees the things that matter most are flexible working, a concern for their health and wellness, and mobility, Tara McCarthy said. She added that when the survey was carried out, there was a high level of awareness among agri-food CEOs of the diversity and inclusion agenda. 
“Only 42% of them had clearly defined what diversity actually meant. They were nervous about how politically correct they were or weren’t on this topic,” McCarthy said, adding that a best practise toolkit is now available on the Bord Bia website. There are also masterclasses on diversity and inclusion at Bord Bia for food and drink companies.
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