Four out of five chief executives in the food and drink industry believe that attracting and developing diverse talent is key to future growth. 

A survey from the Agri-Food Diversity and Inclusion Forum found that 85% of leaders in the sector see diverse recruitment as a source of talent to drive growth, with four-fifths ranking gender equality, diversity and inclusion as priorities for their organisation.

The forum was developed by Bord Bia and Aon, and its pulse survey found that among employees flexibility in the workplace is still the most important criterion when assessing employment opportunities.

On the ground, 79% of employees are provided with flexibility in working hours and seven in 10 in the industry have the opportunity of either part-time working, job sharing or working from home.

Employees do not share the employers’ optimistic view of their assigning priority to diversity, however. Only two-thirds believe this is true where they work, while one in five believe diversity and inclusion is ‘a box to be ticked’.

In Association with

This gap is also evident in attracting, retaining and progressing a diverse workforce to senior management. While 86% of business leaders say advances have been made in recent years, only 65% of employees believing this is the case. 

And while half the business leaders in the survey insist that diversity and inclusion is a high priority within their organisation, one in four have not dedicated any time or focus to the issue.

However, a large majority of employees acknowledged that their employers offer part-time working and health and wellness supports. These measures have made careers in the sector more attractive, with 80% of employees saying they choose to work in the sector due to the opportunities to use their qualifications,  and 70% highlight the prospects for career advancement.

Diversity And Inclusion

Bord Bia chief executive Tara McCarthy (pictured) commented:  “It is evident from the data that we are advancing the diversity and inclusion agenda, enabling more companies to be in a strong position to compete to attract the best talent at all levels and across all fields of discipline.

“The difficulties posed by Covid-19 means business leaders will now need to balance their short term needs with a longer-term vision of how diversity can contribute to strengthening the resilience of their business. We believe that the insights from this survey will contribute to supporting the Irish food and drink industry on a road to recovery through innovation and diversity of thought.”

The forum has created several measures to encourage firms with diversity and inclusion. A webinar on will provide a “deep dive” into the survey findings.

The results of the survey are available here, and the webinar on June 2 can be accessed at this address.