What today we recognize as Women’s History Month began in 1981 as a weeklong national celebration to acknowledge the achievements and contributions women have made to the United States throughout its history. It has since expanded to take place during the entire month of March, designated through an annual proclamation by the President each year. As we kick off this year’s Women’s History Month, we reflect on the immense progress that has been made for gender equality in the workforce, and where additional improvements can still be made. Throughout the month, IDFA will provide resources and programming to support gender equality and drive discussion on how we can empower women in the dairy industry.

Women in the workforce: Where are we now?

Today, there are more than 79 million women in the U.S. workforce, around 56% of the working population. And women today are better represented than ever before, moving into more management positions and earning higher salaries each decade. Yet, despite these gains, there is still room for improvement. In 2023, IDFA surveyed over 500 individuals in the dairy industry to establish gender equality benchmarking data for the U.S. dairy sector and develop recommendations for possible industry actions.

The resulting State of Women in Dairy Report showed that the dairy industry has laid a strong foundation for gender equality. Policies that prohibit discrimination based on gender are widespread, and many dairy companies continue to prioritize programs and benefits that support women throughout their careers. And while the survey results emphasized the considerable progress that has been made, it also revealed reported gender disparities, particularly in areas of career advancement, experiences in the workplace, compensation, mentorship, and overall company policies supporting women. Responses indicated women in the industry often feel overlooked, undervalued, underpaid, and/or that their ambitions may be misrepresented. These gaps offer opportunity for the industry to grow and make improvements to ensure that everyone feels included, heard, and valued regardless of their gender.

How is IDFA working to address gender inequality?

Based on the findings of the State of Women in Dairy report, IDFA made several recommendations for the dairy industry to address perceived gaps and disparities that were highlighted in the survey:

• Culture Development: Set a clear strategy for cultural change that focuses on each company’s unique needs and marks progress through data-based metrics. Provide training across the organization on unconscious bias, directly engage executives and leaders across the organization, increase commitments to having women in leadership positions, and pay special attention to governance.
• Leadership Programs: Implement executive-led mentorship and leadership development programs with clear goals, consistent feedback, and timebound objectives. These roadmaps should be intentional, offering clear direction toward reaching executive leadership positions within a company.
• Address Compensation Equality: Conduct regular compensation audits to help address pay disparities and transparently report the outcomes.
• Effective HR Support: Ensure HR departments are adequately staffed and resourced to effectively handle gender discrimination complaints and foster a supportive environment.
• Family Leave Policies: Expand family leave policies to support work-life balance.
• Ongoing Research: Continue the survey in the future for consistent monitoring and benchmarking.

The response from the dairy industry to the report and its findings have been overwhelmingly positive. IDFA is encouraged by the willingness of dairy companies and their leaders to have these important conversations and spotlight the ways we can all strive to improve gender equality. IDFA will continue to share feedback from industry leaders about the report throughout the month.

It only makes sense that the IDFA is working to advance women in Dairy.  As an advocate on behalf of America’s Dairy Industry, they recognize the power diversity holds for Dairy. Hard data shows more women in leadership translates to tangible business outcomes. The IDFA’s 2024 State of Women in Dairy Report is a great resource for understanding the continued opportunities to elevate, not just women, but the entire industry.

DeeAnne Marlow, Vice President of Human Resources, Hilmar

I applaud IDFA’s efforts in undertaking a comprehensive survey to understand gender equity in the dairy industry. As the results indicate, we are slowly making progress through developing programs and policies for equitable pay and career advancement opportunities for women. However, the survey uncovered a number of challenges that we need to address. I’m encouraged by the transparency exhibited in the responses and look forward to seeing the results in subsequent surveys.

Robin Kane, Chief People Officer, Aurora Organic Dairy

Since the release of the report, IDFA has continued to drive the conversation around these findings and the recommendations to 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. Following the event, IDFA also hosted a webinar to promote this panel and hold further discussion with members of IDFA's Women in Dairy Network.

In recognition and celebration of Women’s History Month, IDFA has developed programming to continue these important discussions and to elevate and empower the women who drive the dairy industry forward.

Elevating women in dairy

In celebration of women’s successes and commitment to the dairy industry, IDFA interviewed 8 individuals who support women's advancement, embody allyship, and who drive our industry toward greater retention and advancement of women in leadership. These Profiles of Women in Dairy spotlight some of the people who make the U.S. dairy industry innovative, thoughtful, and driven towards a successful future.

A focus on leadership development

The inaugural Women’s Summit aims to address one of the recommendations identified in the State of Women in Dairy Report – leadership development programming. The summit will convene 50 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. at the end of March, the 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 establish 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 these 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.

We want to hear from you!

How are you and your company celebrating Women's History Month? Do you have any suggestions for future IDFA programming and resources to support gender equality? Let us know at the feedback form below.