WFA embraces digital festival for maximum inclusivity

from Feedinfo Review - Autumn 2022

Industry moves

WOMEN IN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

WFA embraces digital festival for maximum inclusivity

Starting in 2019, the Women in Food and Agriculture (WFA) initiative has been striving for workforce diversity within the food and agriculture industry. It seeks not only to move towards gender parity, but also to help make the industry welcome all underrepresented groups.

“The main aim of WFA is to solve major challenges that the industry is facing,” says Elisabeth Mork-Eidem, member of AgriBriefing’s executive team and Global Chair of WFA. “This industry is the one that feeds the world, and it is & facing severe issues. We’re witnessing climate change that is affecting food production. We’re witnessing diseases that are affecting food production. We’re witnessing a multitude of challenges, and WFA strongly believes that the more we can get different types of brains, and more outof-the-box thinking, around the table, the better the solutions are going to be.”

Now, the community is gearing up for its next event: the WFA Digital Festival, taking place from 28 November to 2 December this year.

Complimenting the in-person WFA events (most recently held in June 2022) the online format of the digital festival is important because it allows more people to attend.

“We know it takes a certain level of seniority and a certain budget to be able to travel somewhere. Attending a digital event is more accessible,” Mork-Eidem acknowledges. In the words of Olga Korzhova, head of event content for the WFA Summit, WFA events provide a platform for minorities in the industry to network with each other and to learn from each other’s real-life examples, which can help them understand how to advance in their own careers. With practical workshops addressing attendees’ communication or networking habits, roundtables providing insights into specific trends in food and agriculture, and inspirational talks about overcoming common challenges, the digital event will be “drilling down into the key personal skills that will help you with your career,” Korzhova says.

“At the same time, you can learn about market trends and emerging issues. We noticed that people who attended the in-person event wanted to learn from areas that they are not familiar with. Therefore, in the upcoming digital event, there is a cross-disciplinary learning opportunity; for example, if you are in the livestock sector, you can learn about the crop sector,” Korzhova adds.

There will also be networking throughout the whole event. Korzhova stresses that it is truly designed for everyone, whether you are a student, a CEO, or somebody who would like to explore other career avenues.

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Networking at the 2022 Women in Food and Agriculture Summit.

WOMEN IN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

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CHANGING CULTURES AND MENTALITIES

Asked why the industry is progressing slowly in terms of workforce diversity, Mork-Eidem thinks it is because the people in power, who are part of the status quo, fear that their power might be threatened when allowing other people in.

“I think it’s important to get away from the notion that by including new groups, you’re putting other groups down. That is not what the initiative is about. It is about having as many diverse people around the table so that you can have different mindsets, and different perspectives coming up with innovative solutions to the big problems that the industry is facing,” Mork-Eidem comments.

In order to have a more inclusive workforce in the industry, Mork-Eidem believes that it is important for people at the management level to understand how to attract those who aren’t currently represented in the industry.

“It is about making sure you create a company where people feel like they belong. You need to get them through the door, but you also need to create the feeling of belonging within the company that makes them stay and feel that they have the same opportunities in terms of growth within the company, that they are being seen,” says Mork-Eidem.

BEYOND THE DIGITAL FESTIVAL, YEAR-ROUND CHANGE

The face-to-face WFA Summit that happened in June this year successfully shared this message with representatives of all genders and allowed them to have conversations contributing to the industry’s progress.

“There were big global conglomerates that are employing a lot of people. The fact that they are supporting this initiative means that they do take this seriously. The more companies we get supporting WFA, the more impact it will have,” Mork-Eidem says.

Beyond events such as the Summit or the Digital Festival, the WFA initiative also includes ongoing efforts. For example, a mentorship programme, supported by Alltech, has also been running within WFA for two years now. Its second cohort’s application was closed not long ago.

“We get mentors of all genders from all over the world with a certain amount of seniority in the industry. The mentees are women in the industry that would like to work with someone [and think deliberately about] how they can further their careers. We have had a fantastic response to that,” Mork-Eidem says.

“We put a lot of work in matching them. [Our team] spends hours finding the right matches to make sure that the relationships work well. We ask a lot of questions in terms of what they are after on their mentoring journey and matched them up. We saw so much good has come of it when we went to the face-to-face summit in June, where some of the mentors and mentees met for the first time. They have built up such an amazing relationship and are seeing great benefits from it, both as a mentor and mentee,” she adds.

With the momentum that WFA has achieved so far, Mork-Eidem and Korzhova are hopeful that the industry can eventually access a pool of talents who bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

WFA is “looking at building a more diverse and inclusive workforce within the industry so that we can [make progress on] the big questions — fairness, responsibility, and sustainability within the food and agriculture system,” says Mork-Eidem.

By Kate Lai, editor

Interested in the Women in Food and Agriculture Digital Festival taking place from 28 November to 02 December? You can find out more about the agenda, and register to join at