Why Female Representation & Diversity in Food Tech is Essential

Why Female Representation & Diversity in Food Tech is Essential

By: Sumona Chaudhuri & Shruti Salkar

According to research conducted by UN Women, it will take approximately ‘300 years to close the gender gap worldwide ’. As of 2022, only 8.8% of the CEOs of the Fortune 500 companies were women and 2.4 billion women around the globe continue to face discrimination in the workforce.?

The food tech sector in particular, like many STEM fields, tends to have a more masculine culture due to the representation split of employees within the companies in the industry. According to a report done by McKinsey & Company in 2017, in the United States, women of colour made up only 14 percent of entry-level positions and only 3 percent of chief executive roles in the food industry, the report found. In comparison, white men made up 37 percent of entry-level positions and 70 percent of chief executive roles. Hence, there is clearly disparity in the industry when it comes to leadership, gender and race.?

‘Women leaders are essential to driving innovation and progress in FoodTech, and their perspectives and experiences are vital to creating a more sustainable, healthy, and equitable food system’ - Mary Kay James , Senior Advisor, Generation Food Rural Partners Fund and Owner, Upside Financial Solutions

At Big Idea Ventures , 64% of the 100+ companies we have invested in are partly or entirely women-led. Moreover, our new Generation Food Rural Partners fund is led by one of the only all-female advisory boards in the industry. Read on to learn about why it is essential to have female business leaders as well as how having more women of colour in leadership positions benefits the industry.

Why Female Leaders are Essential for the Growth of the Industry

BIV’s female leaders emphasised the importance of bringing in the female perspective when solving the world’s biggest challenges when it comes to food and the need for female role models.?

Joni Symon from De Novo Foodlabs highlighted that women ‘relate to the needs and wants of other females, whether that be in terms of desires, preferences or physiological needs.’ Sandhya Sriram, PhD from Shiok Meats pointed out that ‘women are the majority buyers of food for a household; and every industry should have equal representation by male and female.’

‘I sat in so many meetings earlier in my career where predominantly men were making assumptions and interpreting data about shopper behavior, when those shoppers were largely women.? I wanted a seat and a voice at that table!’ - Mikel Durham , Senior Advisor, Generation Food Rural Partners Fund and Former CEO/Board member of agribusinesses.

According to a survey conducted by the Rockefeller Foundation, ‘more than 8 in 10 Americans believe that not having women in leadership positions as role models fails to inspire women and has contributed to preventing women from securing top leadership positions.’

‘It's great to be able to have role models that one can relate to in an industry or job that one is wanting to pursue.’ - Stephanie Michelsen , Co-Founder & CEO of Jellatech .

Women of Colour and Bringing Change

Our choices in food go beyond merely our “tastes” and have a lot to do with our different cultures, geographies, ethnicities and experiences. Having more diverse voices within the food tech space can help better understand these nuances, and help break barriers around innovation.

According to Minnie Kanwra Tanachotevorapong (Minnie), CEO and Co-founder at More Foods Innotech , “For the food industry particularly, more gender and ethnic representation can bring about more innovative products. For example, having this diversity can help develop food that is more functional to specific genders, food that appeals to and is relatable to, and inspired by different ethnicities.”

However, having more diversity in the ecosystem, doesn’t just mean representation for the sake of it. It’s about creating a space where women of colour play an active role in making decisions about the industry, in creating policies and changing regulations.?

As Kesha S. , co-founder of The Mushroom Meat Co. put it, “I’ve been told that I didn’t “look the part” directly or indirectly more times than I can count. It didn’t matter what role I played or at what level; software engineer, Vice President, Principal Consultant or CEO. People typically hire and fund people who look like themselves, come from a similar background or those they can "see" in a given position. Lack of familiarity can equal lack of trust. And in a tough market, those who are less familiar get that much less funding. Participation requires programs and policies that provide real funding and support to a number of qualified women of colour. Those who may otherwise not be seen as "looking the part". The more women who look like me get funded and go on to build viable businesses, the more "normal" it will become.”

Michelle Lu, PhD from Novel Farms, Inc. supported this by sharing that “diversity is key for innovation--people from different backgrounds and life experiences will have different approaches to the same problem, increasing the likelihood of finding a solution or many solutions to long-standing problems.”?

Addressing the gender bias

One of the biggest challenges that our women founders have faced is overcoming expectations of stereotypical male traits in a good leader and proving their own credibility. The second is overcoming unconscious gender bias among colleagues and external parties in the workplace.?

Dr Leah Bessa from De Novo Foodlabs made an insightful comment stating that ‘business is governed by male dominant leadership style’ and as a result of this, leaders are expected to have stereotypical male characteristics to be a good leader such as aggression. It can be a challenge to overcome this expectation of a stereotypical leader. Sandhya Sriram, PhD from Shiok Meats stated a similar challenge of female leaders either being perceived as ‘too aggressive’ or not aggressive enough.?

Despite numerous studies showcasing that there are no intellectual or cognitive differences between men and women, a common thread in the experiences that women in technical fields face is defending their competence and credibility.?

Jennifer C?té from Opalia stated that “When in a meeting with my (male) co-founder by my side, all the questions are directed at him. No matter how many times I respond to the questions, they still direct their attention to him. While fundraising, women are asked personal questions far more often than men (e.g. are you planning on getting pregnant soon?).”

Similarly for Dr. Ritu Chhatwal ??? ., Founder at Retü Foods , the world’s first Restorative Foods company,? it wasn’t so much being the sole female leader that led to lowered opportunities, but more so the difference in attitude she saw when a man was introduced to the team. “As we grew in terms of the team, it became painfully obvious that as soon as a male was onboard, we seemed to have more “credibility”. And most people assume that the founder is male.”

However, we are seeing a positive change in the industry. Angelique Nicolette Teo from MAD shared that “A decade ago, female-owned businesses typically received less attention than those owned by men, and they may also have had to face more difficulty accessing investment capital from traditional sources. In today's business landscape, female entrepreneurs have come forward and the bias from potential investors, customers, and even employees, has decreased.”

We celebrate our founders and advisors for facing these challenges head on. It is important to recognise the importance of representation and work towards creating work environments where women can thrive.?

‘Female leaders are as essential as male leaders. Gender diversity is as important as social and ethnic backgrounds and geographic diversity. Leaders are wise to gather such a broad range of perspectives and arrive at better decisions by using all these resources. Females have long held the role of nurturer and provider for their families and bring that skill to their leadership roles.? Not only does that translate to better products and systems but also generally promotes the growth and development of the team around her.’ - Bette Brand , Founder/CEO, Strategic Consulting LLC and Senior Advisor, Generation Food Rural Partners Fund.