This year the theme of International Women's Day (IWD) is #AccelerateAction. We spoke to women at Foods Connected to understand what this theme means to them and what actions they think businesses can take to move toward greater gender equality. 

At the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity, according to data from the World Economic Forum. 

International Women's Day is aimed at driving collective action, this year focusing on accelerating action for gender equality. Focusing on the need to #AccelerateAction emphasises the importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality. It calls for greater urgency in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, in personal and professional spheres. 

Here at Foods Connected we are fortunate in that as of writing, around 45% of our employees are female. As a tech business we are aware of the gender diversity gap that exists in our industry, for example, Tech Talent Charter’s annual 2024 ‘Diversity in tech’ report found that women and non-binary employees account for 29% of the UK tech workforce, a 1% increase on 2023. The numbers become more challenging when you look more closely at specific roles and seniority levels. For example, in the UK tech industry women or non-binary individuals account for just 20% of software engineers and 21% of senior tech leadership, with the latter falling by 1% from 2023.  So, there is still a lot of work to do. 

One of the best ways to forge gender equality is to understand what works and to do more of it, faster. 

So, to learn more and continue the discussion on how we can accelerate gender equality, we spoke to women at Foods Connected about their experiences working within both the food and technology industries. Here are their perspectives and insights on how we can accelerate action. 

Why is it important to accelerate action around gender equality? 

Ensuring visibility and representation is a starting point for supporting equality. For Bethany Patterson, Senior Implementation Manager in EMEA, it's about harnessing different viewpoints to drive better outcomes for businesses: 

“Women can have different perspectives, and skill sets to their male counterparts, so it is important they are included to get the best collaboration and outcomes within a team.” 

Culture is key – Vanessa Stevens, Regional Commercial Director, APAC believes there is still work to be done, and that this needs to be proactive: 

“Creating policies and handbooks is one thing but actually promoting a culture where gender bias is acknowledged and proactively addressed is vitally important in ensuring a healthy, diverse and inclusive organisation.” 

This idea of culture was echoed by Bianca Roberts, Implementation Specialist in the US, but also understanding the unique challenges female employees might be facing: 

“I think it's important to shed light on physical and mental challenges we naturally face in our lives in a way that doesn’t make us feel excluded or inferior but to aid in our wellbeing and help balance stressors we may be facing outside of work.”   

For Anne Carter, Customer Success Manager, Agriculture & Animal Welfare supporting equality means first overcoming recruitment challenges, particularly in the food and technology sectors:

“Traditionally, both the agricultural and computer software sectors have been perceived to be male dominated. This has created challenges in recruiting women into these areas. Yet there is an ongoing need to recruit more people into the agricultural data space to help meet the expanding requirement for data driven improvements i.e carbon emissions, animal welfare and environmental responsibility. 

Having worked within both university and industry settings, I believe this challenge can be overcome by showcasing opportunities and providing an insight into the careers and progression routes available. This includes breaking down the barriers and preconceptions female students have, in order for them to consider roles and careers within these areas.” 

How does Foods Connected support women and gender equality?  

For Vanessa, it again comes back to the idea of creating an inclusive culture: 

“From day one at Foods Connected, my experience has been that we offer an inclusive culture that promotes equal opportunities. One of the reasons I am incredibly proud to work here is that I don't see gender as a barrier for recruitment, opportunity or career growth. Sitting within the leadership team, I can witness across my peer-group the dedication in creating and maintaining an inclusive environment.” 

Bethany shared similar feelings, “I feel Foods Connected has a good company culture for inclusion where everyone has the same opportunities, not discriminating based off their gender.” 

This idea of a supportive environment, with equal opportunities to build on experience was also something Anne called out, “working for Foods Connected has allowed me to develop a wealth of experience within this field. They have always provided me with a supportive environment, recognizing how my individual strengths and skillsets can make a positive contribution to the agricultural data space. So despite being traditionally viewed as a male dominated sector, I am being provided with opportunities to advance my role and skills on a daily basis. This is an opportunity the company provides to all of their staff, regardless of socio-demographic factors such as gender, race or religion, and is what makes it such a good company to work for.” 

“Within the Animal Welfare, Compliance and Environment (ACE) team at Foods Connected, we work with clients to help them get the most from the data they are collecting, through insightful analysis that can then be used to inform policy, evidence reporting requirements and assess risk. My role is varied and often deadline driven, but allows me to utilise my skillset and technical knowledge on a unique and ever changing range of projects.” 

In terms of extra-curricular activities, the opportunity to attend events and conferences specifically related to promoting women in both the food and tech industries was called out as a helpful resource by Bethany,  

“I’ve had the opportunity to attend networking events directed at women such as Women in Tech and Women in Meat, and I’ve found them beneficial. These events enable women to network with each other and to gather inspiration from what other companies are doing to successfully advance women their workplace. These ideas can then be brought back and implemented into the workplace.” 

Applications and examples of the company culture for Bianca include, “giving flexibility to our working schedules and time off to take care of our health, or ease transition back from maternity leave by offering a modified schedule.” 

What else can companies do to support the advancement of gender equality? 

To advance gender equality our team highlighted that really listening to women within the business is an important first step. As Vanessa commented: 

“I think it's important to ensure that all contributions, ideas and opinions have an equal voice in discussions, ensuring that women feel empowered to speak up in meetings and more importantly have their voice heard and acknowledged.” 

To ensure this can happen, training and career support are also key. This can be companywide, for example as Vanessa suggests: “One way would be to improve internal training around gender bias, because it's often not intentional and people may not be aware that they are doing it.”

Developing specific training and support opportunities for women was another suggestion from Bethany: “Mentoring programs can be a really successful tool in supporting women to advance in the workplace. Whether this is with another internal member of staff or with an external party, mentoring allows women to identify key areas they want to focus on, and the mentor can help them progress.” 

Anne highlighted the importance of education on the opportunities available for women in the agri-food and tech industries,

"Interestingly, our ACE team is in a unique position of being all-female at the moment. This provides a dynamic and encouraging workspace to develop and progress, whilst highlighting the value and opportunities for women within the industry. Therefore, whilst the agriculture and food industry has a wealth of interesting and rewarding opportunities for women, it is my firm belief that in order to grow recruitment in these areas and overcome traditional stereotypes, more education is needed to really showcase the potential career paths available.” 

Finally, it’s also about making sure women feel supported as Bianca reminded us, “There’s a whole host of ways that companies can support women, especially when it comes to health, for example offering flexible leave, access to health care systems or programs to help with challenges many women face with pregnancy, childcare, birth control, menstrual cycle.” 

Getting involved 

Accelerating action for gender equality is something that companies need to rally around all year round, not just for a day. Here at Foods Connected we’ll continue to listen and learn from our employees to keep building a culture that supports equality. 

There are many ways you can get involved with IWD, visit the resources below to learn more: 

  • Resources: continue to rally your community to help forge women's equality and #AccelerateAction throughout 2025