Tetra Pak calls for more women to join the food and beverage manufacturing industry

Woman in food laboratory. SOURCE: Tetra Pak

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Tetra Pak identifies an opportunity for more women to join the F&B manufacturing industry, to bring more diversity and help drive transformational change. A huge variety of skillsets required to boost innovation in the food packaging industry, ranging from mechanical and automation engineering to microbiology and food science.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap report, women make up only a third of roles in the manufacturing sector, dropping to just 21% at a senior executive level.

“Manufacturing industries have not always been the most attractive career choice for women, owing to the stereotypes and legacies of this heavily male-dominated sector. But now there is a brilliant opportunity for more diversity and for female innovators to help protect our global food supply chains for generations to come,” states Laurence Mott, Executive VP, Development and Engineering at Tetra Pak in a statement.

Marie Sandin, Vice President Engineering and Plant Automation at Tetra Pak, says: “Our global food systems are facing many challenges – in terms of climate change, food safety and hygiene and distribution. We can make a difference in all of these areas, but our impact will be far more effective if we involve more women in the movement. The Covid-19 pandemic has shone a light on critical environmental issues as well as the importance of food safety and availability and we need all hands on deck to address these evolving challenges.”

Tetra Pak Food Science Lead in USA & Canada Abigail Dagadu says: “I see an opportunity for women to enter the food science discipline and make an impact. Drawing from my own experience, my role is to look for innovative solutions to some of the world’s most important issues today: from food insecurity and famine to metabolic diseases, like obesity and diabetes, it’s a chance to drive real societal change, and I would encourage all young women with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) qualifications to consider a career in the F&B industry.”

Laurence Mott says: “We have a number of women in leadership roles across Automation and Digital, Programme Management, Systems Engineering and Materials and Packaging, and our Future Talent graduate programme is helping usher in the next generation of female engineers and leaders, – but we can still do more. The success of a company depends not only on the competence of its people but also the diversity within.”