World Grain - February 2020 - 6

FROM THE EDITOR

Narrowing the gender
gap in agribusiness

omen make up nearly half of the
worldwide workforce, but the
percentage of female employees
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is far less than that. Exactly how much less
is unknown since there doesn't appear to
be any hard data on the subject, but anyone
who has attended a conference or trade show
can attest to how male-dominated these industries are.
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is underway to bring more women into the
agribusiness workforce, which, if successful, will immeasurably strengthen these industries and their individual companies.
Never has the push for gender parity in
the agribusiness arena enjoyed so much momentum. There is the fast-growing Women in
Agribusiness organization that was launched
in the United States and is expanding into
Europe. Its goal is to promote women in the
agriculture/agribusiness sectors. Industry
associations such as the International Association of Operative Millers, the National
Grain and Feed Association and the Grain
Elevator and Processing Society are pushing
hard to increase their female membership as
well as actively promoting their respective
industries to prospective female employees.
The American Feed Industry Association recently hired Constance Cullman as its new
president and CEO, and, also in 2019, Emily Likens was named president and CEO
of Augusta, Michigan, U.S.-based Knappen
Milling, succeeding her father.
Multinational giants such as Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM), which was led by
a female CEO, Patricia Woertz, from 200614, and Cargill, have developed programs
designed to increase the number of women
in their companies, especially upper management positions. Through a partnership with
Paradigm for Parity, a coalition comprised
of business leaders who are committed to a
norm in corporate leadership in which women and men have equal power, status, and op6

portunity, ADM and Cargill announced their
commitment to achieve "gender parity" by
7KLVHQGHDYRULQFOXGHVVLJQL¿FDQWO\LQcreasing the number of women in senior operating roles, with the near-term goal of at least
30% representation in all leadership groups.
What's most refreshing about this genderSDULW\H൵RUWLVWKDWWKHPRWLYHGRHVQ¶WDSSHDU
WR EH GULYHQ E\ D VXSHU¿FLDO GHVLUH WR ³¿OO
a quota" or make a politically-correct statement. Instead, the companies and associations participating in this movement see real
value in having strong female representation.
Numerous studies show that companies
with a diverse workforce are more creative,
SURGXFWLYH DQG SUR¿WDEOH WKDQ WKRVH ZKRVH
VWD൵VDUHGRPLQDWHGE\RQHUDFHDQGRUJHQGHU 0HQ DQG ZRPHQ KDYH GL൵HUHQW YLHZpoints, opinions and insights, making for
better problem solving, according to a recent
*DOOXS VWXG\ ³7KH %XVLQHVV %HQH¿WV RI
Gender Diversity."
Despite this progress, there's still plenty
of room for improvement. A recent Alltech
survey found that 68% of women in agribusiness felt unequal pay was a problem, and
an alarming 48% said they have witnessed or
experienced sexist comments or behavior in
their place of work.
As the father of two daughters now enterLQJWKHZRUNIRUFH,ZRXOG¿QGLWDSSDOOLQJLI
they were not hired, passed over for a promotion or received less pay than male colleagues
simply because of their
gender. All employees,
regardless of gender, race
and, for that matter, religious and political views,
should be judged solely
on their job performance.
Truly embracing the concept of a diverse
workforce is vital to the success of the agribusiness sector moving forward.

Arvin Donley
Editor

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WORLD GRAIN (ISSN 0745-8991) Volume 38, issue 2,

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World Grain - February 2020

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