#ThePowerOfYou: Megan and Luiza's stories of empowerment

In the latest episode of #ThePowerOfYou, we hear from two aspirational young women who are navigating their careers within the meat industry.

Megan Afford, Senior Food Safety and Quality Manager and Luiza Isernhagen, Customer Support Manager, Agriculture both work for Moy Park and star in our series which shares inspirational, authentic stories of the people who work in the meat industry.

Megan and Luiza share some of the challenges they've faced in their career to date, which include Luiza relocating halfway across the globe for a fresh career start, stepping into a mentorship role, and Megan battling moments of self-doubt. They talk openly about working in a traditionally male-oriented sector and ways that they have found their own confidence to help them build a successful career, such as finding a trusted mentor and attending Meat Business Women conferences to connect in a supportive space.

Luiza says “One of the biggest challenges for me was deciding to move from Brazil to Europe to seek new opportunities. I was fortunate enough to have allies and mentors that helped me navigate moving to a new country. My mentor supported me through how to talk and interact with people, as my culture was so different and I really valued that. The experience and knowledge she shared with me gave me a foundation for a great start.”

Megan says "When I first attended the Meat Business Women conference there was so much power in that room - so much you could learn from others, particularly from the speakers. The themes they talked about such as imposter syndrome almost validated some of the doubts you have internally that perhaps you haven't shared and you realise that you're not alone in this!"

The video is part of ‘The Power Of You’; a global campaign backed by leading meat businesses launched to help empower women who work in the meat industry, foster the involvement of male allies and drive action towards a more inclusive sector.  The campaign will run across social and digital channels, including LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube and X (Twitter), throughout 2023 and 2024.

The campaign is launched as a direct result of Meat Business Women’s 2023 Global Gender Representation report. The report found that 53% of people working in the industry believe that inclusion has moved up the agenda since 2020. There has been an increase in women at board level, director and CEO level roles however, the number of women in the total global meat workforce has dropped overall, and progress is stagnant at more junior levels. Although the industry is making progress, there is still more to be done. To really shift the dial, the report findings tell us that all genders need to work together to create a more inclusive future.

Recognise, Respond, Reciprocate

Since the launch of Meat Business Women’s first campaign ‘She Looks Like Me’, 60% of people working in the meat industry say that women now have more opportunities to network and role models are more visible. ‘The Power of You’ will highlight role models in the industry, and encourage individuals to do three things: Recognise their key strengths and skills. Respond, by amplifying their voices and taking action, and Reciprocate, by sharing their experiences and paying their skills and knowledge forward to others.

Meat Business Women has created a media kit, which includes social media and digital to encourage everyone who works within the meat industry to get involved with the campaign. Meat Business Women are calling on individuals to create their own social media posts and share the campaign with their peers. The toolkit is available to download here.

Meat Business Women members can access enhanced resources via their Members Portal.