“No room for complacency on D&I strategies in agri-food” – Sinead McPhillips, DAFM

@CERESNETWORK

At a Ceres Network event in the Killashee Hotel in Naas this morning, attendees heard that there is no room for complacency when it comes to employing diversity and inclusion strategies in the agri-food industry. The event, which focussed on ‘Striking the Gender Balance in Irish Agri-food’ featured a panel discussion with John Jordan, CEO, Ornua, Sinéad McPhillips, Assistant Secretary General, Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and Dr. Monica Gorman, Lecturer in agricultural extension and innovation in UCD’s School of Agriculture and Food Science.

In analysing the need for diversity and inclusion strategies, Sinéad McPhillips Assistant Secretary General, Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) stated the importance of metrics to understand where improvements can be made. “In 2012, DAFM was the worst-performing Government department in terms of gender balance with only 11% of senior managers being female.  We are now headed for 30% female representative at senior level but I would still argue that there is no room for complacency. Diversity and Inclusion strategies need to be integrated into the overall strategy for the sector/organisation. For example, we developed a number of agri-food specific targets as part of the National Women and Girls Strategy and we then adopted these into the Food Wise strategy and reporting framework to avoid the silo effect.”

Speaking about how the next generation of graduates entering the agri-food sector will have raised expectations for greater diversity and equality in their careers and family care, Dr. Monica Gorman, lecturer in agricultural extension and innovation in UCD’s School of Agriculture and Food Science, said “Gender equality is impacting on men in the workplace - there are examples of men in senior positions in the sector who are taking parental leave but a critical mass has not been achieved. Younger men’s attitudes are changing from clear breadwinner roles toward being able to integrate their role as fathers with their careers but they are hitting the same barriers as women when it comes to opportunities for work–family balance.”

 Explaining the rationale behind today’s event, Roberta McDonald, Chair, Ceres said, “Unconscious bias plays a key role in creating a lack of balance or equality in our industry. Having discussions like today helps to create awareness of these issues and start a conversation. Buy in from senior leadership is a key component to encouraging change and we are delighted to hear from a panel of inspirational leaders from across the sector today. We need champions promoting the value of conversations like this, overcoming any discomfort or unconscious bias when it comes to discussions on gender balance.”

About Ceres

Ceres, the women in agri-business leadership network, was founded to develop and promote leadership and diverse thinking within the industry. Through the delivery of a range of dynamic, engaging and thought-provoking events, the network aims to provide a platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration and peer support.  

The group was founded by ten leading female professionals* from diverse backgrounds within the sector including academia, consulting and agri-business. Ceres events will be open to everyone with an interest in critical thinking and leadership in Irish agri-business. The network is named after Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture and growth, known as the protector of the land and its products.

 For further information visit www.ceresnet.ie or follow @CeresNetwork on Twitter