Women in Food Fireside Discussion: Passion will drive the workforce of the future

The workforce of the future needs leaders who are proud of our industry’s role in feeding the nation, care wholeheartedly about food, about nutrition, about communities and our impact on them. They approach tech and innovation challenges with excitement; lead with clarity and conviction, while listening with intention; stand out and stand up, inspiring the next generation.

Just a handful of many ideas from Women in Food’s annual networking event, where senior leaders and future stars were invited to connect and share challenges, as well as take part in an inspiring fireside chat.

This year, the discussion centered on the workforce of the future, and featured incredible industry experts: 

• Professor Susan Jebb OBE, Chair of the Food Standards Agency and Professor of Diet and Population Health at the University of Oxford; 
• Dame Fiona Kendrick, board member of Skills England, former CEO of Nestlé UK & Ireland and Chair of Women in Food;
• Allyson Zimmerman, CEO of the LEAD Network, a non-profit committed to advancing women in consumer goods and retail;
• Christina Clark, Consumer Goods Director at Newton and specialist in transforming supply chains from end-to-end. 

As host, Christina opened the session with some worrying data. Data in the US shows an increase in women between the ages of 25 and 44 living with a child under five leaving the workforce. Post-COVID, more flexible working policies encouraged this age group back into work leading to the highest proportion of labour force participation in recorded history. The recent decline is potentially indicative of remote arrangements being removed in many offices. This led into discussing a set of high level, urgent questions. 

“It’s not a cake walk,” admitted Allyson. The LEAD Network’s NextGen Chapter for 25-to-35-year-olds may be its fastest-growing Chapter but only 28% of this age group want to stay in the industry. “When I tell leaders that statistic, they can’t believe it!” said Allyson. “As an industry, we risk losing all this talent. This generation may not wait if they can’t see what they want for their future in today’s leadership and opportunities.” 

So, how do we keep them? LEAD research shows that the next generation wants many of the same things as other age groups: visibility, sponsorship and flexibility. The one really significant difference in what women in this group want is a strong sense of purpose. “That’s something we have spades of in this industry, so as leaders we need to be telling that story,” added Allyson. 

“Younger people coming through have a different lens,” agreed Fiona. “While I was at Nestlé, I was ‘interviewed’ by a graduate who asked just two questions: one about our sustainability policy and the other about how people demonstrate our purpose: both topics that until that time, people had shied away from.” 

All this means that we need to tap into people’s personal drivers, believes Susan. “As soon as I mention what I do to people, they love to ask questions, give their views,” she explained. “To take that into your job is a real privilege. We all want to feel proud of the work we do. Food isn’t just about individual fuel but societal goals – for health and the environment.”

• Tell the story of the purpose of your business in meeting the needs of people and communities. 

• Provide people with the chance to zigzag through different functions to learn across a breadth of disciplines, and also find the area that is right for them. 

• Go into depth on your team member’s goals, provide the opportunities they need to grow and show them what’s possible.

Leadership is shifting. People don’t want perfection or a polished performance but authenticity and vulnerability. Allyson explained that it’s not easy: “Leaders need the courage to admit: ‘I don’t know – what do you think?’ They need to be curious, listening to others. But they need to be decisive in the same breadth.” Once leaders go in a direction, they need to be consistent while adapting to take other views into consideration.

“I truly believe that women leaders have a different skillset that is inspiring and involving and exactly what we need today,” added Fiona. As well as companies with female leaders being more productive and profitable, the panel highlighted two more important female traits: fairness and kindness. “What has never been so important,” believes Fiona, “is our transformational style of leadership and our emotional intelligence.”

The other change affecting attraction and retention according to Fiona, and as seen through her work with Skills England, is that food and drink businesses are looking for different skills today. “The issue then becomes,” she says, “how do we make sure young people know our factories are as innovative as automotive, our challenges as interesting and life-changing as any industry?”

We’re answering questions like: how do we sustainably produce food at scale? How do we use regenerative agriculture and vertical farms? What is the future of packaging? 

Then layer on top the health agenda, for instance: how can we make it easier to eat healthily using technology and self-cultivating meat? 

“This is a phenomenally exciting time in the industry,” said Susan. “The breadth of skills needed to deliver the future is vast – from biologists to soil scientists, from engineers and marketers. That’s why we need to branch out to make sure people consider food and drink when they’re starting their careers.”

Industry questions

• How can we excite the next generation to work in food and drink? 

• How do we attract a diverse set of people and skills to unlock the future we all know is possible?

• The leaders shaping the future of work have qualities long undervalued in leadership, many of them traditionally seen as female.

• Honesty, courage and the confidence to continue on shifting sands are key leadership traits to appeal to the next generation. 

• Asking questions and listening deeply play a part in unlocking people’s potential. 

At a time when talent is calling out for empathetic leaders, and three-quarters of buying power sits with women (NielsenIQ), we need female leaders. But with the world moving away from flexibility, and with the jobs required to achieve a sustainable food future often requiring people to be hands-on, on-site and in labs, the industry is at a turning point. 

Will the next gen look to other sectors to build their careers or, knowing they value purpose, can we turn up the volume on what makes our industry unique: our real, undeniable purpose to feed people and keep them healthy and happy? It’s an important moment to be part of Women in Food, as we explore these questions and shape the future of a purpose-driven industry.

Thank you to the panel for the practical and inspiring insights and to everyone who attended for their thoughtful questions.

Christina Clark

Consumer Goods Director, Newton

Christina delivers lasting and sustainable change across the end-to-end value chain for consumer goods organisations. Having spent several years in a male dominated operations environment, she is extremely passionate about increasing female representation in the food and drink industry.

Jazz Swift

Retail Director, Newton 

Across the UK’s major grocery retailers and largest fashion brands, Jazz leads strategic change programmes with a focus on retail operations and physical estate. She champions equality, diversion and inclusion through multiple initiatives including Women in Food.