Page 17 - Food&Drink Magazine Aug-Sep 2021

“It’s a complex problem and I often describe it
as an onion, where you just keep unravelling all the layers and then find another thing to resolve.”
She also cautioned against looking on gender as a homogenous concept. “Women make the most purchasing decisions in households, but we are also not a homogenous group. To access insights into your consumers,youmustleverage the diversity of the market in your business. Then you can harness its potential and power.”
Weine went on to discuss outdated terms such as ‘maternity’ or ‘paternity’ leave and pointed out the need to change antiquated legalities that no longer serve.
Exclusion in workplaces was also a hot topic, with Weine setting the challenge to break from being attracted to ‘sameness’ and adopting feeling ‘comfortably uncomfortable’.
“Step into the discomfort, ask yourself if you are looking for cultural fit rather than cultural add. There are tough conversations that need unwavering leadership and commitment to change,” she said.
Admitting that we have a long way to go, she nevertheless encouraged people to move
parents asked her for help on resolving structural problems with the boxes their produce was transported in, her packaging passion was sparked. Frustrated with packaging she imported, Nguyen decided to take on the design herself, which culminated in her cardboard packaging company Pakko. “What I love about this industry is there’s so much to learn from designs, pre-press, production manufacturing to the different types of materials is just endless.” Nguyen was awarded the 2021 Young Packaging Professional of the Year.
O F Packaging marketing manager Jessica Ansell stumbled into the industry with little experience. Ansell said having a strong supportive role model in colleagueHannahFysonhelped
from accepting complacency to standing up and saying, “that’s just not good enough.”
NAWO has developed nine levers for gender balance, divided into a three-layer strategy that can help businesses understand the multiple touch points that need to be activated for change to occur.
Weine’s final message was that while change can be hard it is within our control and the benefitsareimmense. ✷
✷ IN THE FIGURES LONG WAY TO GO
In manufacturing:
• there is a 12% pay gap; • there has only been a 1%
increase in the number of
women in six years to 27%; • 52.4% of all business
provide paid caring support (e.g. parental leave). In manufacturing it is 37.1%;
• 32% of incoming employees are female and 30.3% of those going out the door are female;
• only 5.2 % of positions are offered part time; and
• only 5.3% of promotions go to people in part time positions.
her acquire skills and increase her confidence.
“Hannah took me under her wing and answered all of my questions every day. Having a team willing to share knowledge, allow you to make mistakes, and give you opportunities makes all the difference,” Ansell said.
In her role as Coles’ group responsible sourcing manager, Caitlyn Richards works every day on increasing the sustainable packaging share within the retailer and its own brand supply base. Working at a large organisation presents its own challenges and benefits, Richards said, saying she learns something new every day and that should be the case no matter how long you have been intheindustry. ✷
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