Earlier this month, Lord Davies, minister for trade, investment and small businesses, wrote a letter to Christopher Hogg, chairman of the Financial Reporting Council, calling on him to include a “new principle” of boardroom diversity in the UK Corporate Governance Code for listed companies.
Davies’ letter coincides with a report commissioned by the Government Equalities Office for International Women’s Day that predicted that at current rates, it could take 60 years for women to gain equal representation on the boards of the top 100 UK companies.
There is little doubt that the deficit of women in top jobs exists across much of UK trade, but there has long been a feeling that food and farming has been a purveyor of this more than many others. Some strong examples of leading female lights in recent years have paved the way for others, but it is clear there is still work to be done at the very top level.
David Macaulay, director of recruitment agency Redfox, believes the fact there are fewer women in produce is probably due to the nature of the industry. He tells FPJ: “The long hours people are expected to work and the amount of travelling makes it difficult to balance with a family and it may often be the women who are expected to raise the family - wrongly, in my view. It can therefore be perceived as difficult to forge a career in the produce trade with such pressure on families. However, there are plenty of examples of people who have done both very successfully.
“There certainly aren’t enough women on executive boards and I don’t think there is a pool of talent at executive management level waiting to step up to that level. Our clients make decisions on the basis of who is the best candidate for the job regardless of gender. However, because of the lack of female talent in the sector, there are more men jostling for the top spots. But attitudes are getting better and, of course, there are many women in our industry who are highly efficient and better at balancing work tasks and home life than their male colleagues.”
Macaulay cites Pam Corbett of Stonegate Farms and Christine Tacon of The Co-operative Farms as particularly inspiring examples of women at the top of the produce game. New Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA) communications officer Helen Evans sees Norman Collett’s Sarah Calcutt, LEAF chief executive Caroline Drummond and Sarah Pettitt as women who have advanced thinking in fresh produce in the last decade. On taking up the chair of the National Farmers’ Union’s Horticulture and Potatoes Board last year, Pettitt became the first female board chairman, and the youngest.
Evans shares her personal experience: “I have been at CGMA nearly 14 years.When I started I was the only female manager the market had ever had. By 2005, CGMA had a female chairman and a female chief executive. There was much scepticism as to how they would deal with such a traditionally male-dominated environment as the market.By the tenants’ own admission, never has so much happened so quickly.Brenda [Dean, CGMA chairman] and Jan [Lloyd, CGMA ceo] are recognised as having an open door policy and listening to everyone with an interest in the future of the market.The management style has changed and it is widely recognised as a change for the better.”
Evans adds: “In my view, there is no shortage of extremely successful women in the food industry as a whole, particularly on the retail side but also within the regional development agencies.But the sharp end of wholesaling or production perhaps has an image problem.It is not just women who are under represented, it is also in some cases younger people… Having said that, why are there so few top female chefs?It’s not that women can’t cook or don’t love food.”
Fresh Produce Consortium ceo Nigel Jenney tells FPJ: “There is a lack of awareness of the broad range of career paths and opportunities we can offer and sometimes a poor perception of the industry as an employer.It is vital that the industry works to raise its profile… The future of the industry is dependent on attracting and retaining enthusiastic candidates of both sexes and of all ages.”
The Women’s Food & Farming Union’s conference, to be held in Yorkshire on 29 March, is set to look at a broad range of issues affecting the sector with a female focus. Lantra has also done a considerable amount of work in this field and last week, it announced that a training grant worth £450 each will be offered to 670 women working in male-dominated rural industries in England, at the first-ever Women and Work Awards.
Access to this new funding will enable women in industries such as production horticulture to develop a variety of skills in the Lantra Women and Work programme’s fourth year.
There appear to be real signs of change and a general feeling that quality leaders now will attract significant numbers of women to top produce jobs in the future. Jenney adds: “The historical absence of women in the boardroom occurs across all industry sectors. Based on merit, there are a number of women in key positions within the fresh produce industry who are providing vital role models at all levels.”
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