March marks the start of Women’s History Month! Celebrated annually, it is a time to honor the achievements, resilience, and contributions of women throughout history. It highlights the progress made toward gender equality while recognizing the challenges that remain.
Gender Equality in Dairy: Where We Are Today and Recommendations for Continued Growth
In 2024, IDFA released the first-ever State of Women in Dairy Report to benchmark sentiment among women and men working in the dairy industry on six key areas impacting gender equality in the dairy industry: treatment; compensation; mentorship, allyship and support; opportunities for advancement; factors in recruiting and retention; and discrimination policies and gender equality goals.
The 2024 report found key strengths for improving gender equality within the industry, such as widespread anti-discrimination policies, access to flexible work schedules, and opportunities for advancement. In 2025, IDFA released a second report that focuses on the same six key areas of impact, but in greater depth. IDFA also made a more concerted effort to reach women and men working in “frontline” work environments—such as processing plants, warehousing facilities, and farms—and women ages 44 and under in the Generation Z and Millennial generations.
The 2025 report again shows several areas of strength within the industry:
- Women Are Taking Initiative to Lead: More women (54%) reported asking for promotions compared to men (47%), with 62% of those women saying they received those promotions—a rate equal to men.
- Opportunities for Advancement Are There: Two-thirds of women (63%) expressed satisfaction with advancement opportunities within their organization.
- Many Dairy Companies Are Investing: Half of female respondents across generations acknowledge having access to programs that support their professional development and retention.
The report also identified opportunities for improvement. These opportunities informed IDFA’s recommendations to the industry:
- Create and/or Improve Advancement Opportunities for Women: Implement unbiased hiring and promotion practices, enhance networking opportunities, and invest in leadership succession planning to provide women with visibility and accountability for their career growth.
- Develop Support & Benefits Targeted to Populations Facing Greater Disparities: The deeper dive into sub-demographics of female respondents made it clear that diverse women have diverse views, experiences, and needs. Dairy companies should address the unique needs of women of different ages, workplaces, and backgrounds through expanded maternity leave, flexible policies for family care, targeted training for advancement, and pay equity audits.
- Grow ERGs and Formal Programs that Level the Playing Field for Women: Invest in employee resource groups, mentorship initiatives, and professional development programs to support women and create pathways for equity and inclusion.
- Foster “People First” Workplace Cultures and Communications: Workplace policies are not enough. Cultivate empathetic, inclusive workplace cultures by prioritizing open communication, transparency in addressing concerns, and ensuring the availability and awareness of development opportunities.
And the conversation doesn’t end with the report. It is critical to continue these discussions and increase engagement and awareness of issues impacting women across the industry. At Dairy Forum, the premier dairy industry event of the year, IDFA convened a panel of leaders to share their experiences, dive into the report findings, and discuss ways the dairy industry can strive to improve gender equality across all sectors.
IDFA Programming and Resources
Throughout the year, IDFA strives to support the dairy industry in its efforts to address gaps in gender equality by providing resources and programming. One way that is achieved is through ongoing virtual programming hosted by IDFA’s Women in Dairy Network. Webinars, virtual networking sessions, and fireside chats with industry leaders are hosted monthly for women from across the dairy industry. IDFA also facilitates mentoring circles,
Recent topics of Women in Dairy virtual programming include salary negotiations, career advancement, and tools to thrive as a woman in the workplace. Most recently, IDFA hosted a fireside chat with Kellie Adesina from the government affairs team with Kraft Heinz to talk about her career journey on Capitol Hill, her drive and inspiration to co-found Black Professionals in Food and Agriculture, the confidence and unique strengths she has cultivated throughout her career, and how other women in dairy can embrace and harness their own superpowers. IDFA is excited to release a new episode of The Dairy Download podcast later this month, featuring two accomplished women in the dairy industry. They’ll share their insights and advice to inspire and support other women on their leadership journeys.
All IDFA Women in Dairy programming can be accessed through the IDFA Knowledge Center.
In addition to this monthly programming, IDFA is also proud to be once again offering a unique opportunity for women in the dairy industry through the IDFA Women’s Summit. Now in its second year, the Women’s Summit convenes 75 rising and established leaders from across the dairy industry to advance gender equality, bolster their leadership skills, advocate on behalf of dairy’s top policy priorities, and network. Hosted in Washington, D.C. mid-March, this year’s Summit will provide attendees with an opportunity to learn from a set of in-depth workshops meant to equip them with skills needed to lead and succeed in their careers.
IDFA is excited to continue offering the Women’s Summit as an annual opportunity for leaders to gather, network, learn, and experience advocacy firsthand. More information about the Summit is available here.
Celebrate Women’s History Month with us!
IDFA is pleased to make resources available for download and use in celebration of Women’s History Month and the incredible women of the dairy industry. Follow us on social media to join us throughout the month as we continue to promote thoughtful ways to engage and elevate the discussion around gender equality in dairy.
