Celebrating IWD at Meadow

International Women’s Day is a designated day for the celebration of women which has taken place for over a century, in one form or another.

Back in 1909, the first National Woman’s Day was observed in the United States to honour the garment workers’ strike that had taken place a year earlier in New York.

Initially, this celebration was confined only to the United States but in 1910, Clara Zetkin, a German socialist and feminist, had her proposal for an International Women’s Day unanimously approved by the International Conference of Working Women.

The first IWD was held on 19th March 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland with rallies and demonstrations demanding women’s rights to work and vote.

It wasn’t until 1975 that the UN officially recognised International Women’s Day but in the near half-century since, rallies, marches and cultural events have been held each year to raise awareness about gender inequality, as well as celebrate women’s achievements.

The IWD theme for this year is #EmbraceEquity. Gender equity recognises that some groups may require additional support and resources in order to achieve true equality. It is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women but also a chance to raise awareness of the progress that is still to be made on gender equality.

What International Women’s Day means to our team

To mark International Women’s Day, we spoke to some of the female members of our team about what the day means to them and the advice they’d give to young women who are just starting out in their career.

Debbie Scott – Head of Technical

For Debbie Scott, our Head of Technical, International Women’s Day is a chance to remind colleagues and friends of the amazing job they’re doing. Whether it’s juggling careers and families or achieving goals in the more male-dominated world of manufacturing, she says: “you keep growing, girl”.

Leadership is a central part of Debbie’s role, and as a leader she’s consistently inspiring and motivating her team to ‘do the right thing’ so that Meadow’s food safety and quality can continue to get better and better.

Debbie says “I help to provide the environment for people to “think big” to achieve their full potential.

“I’m only a few weeks into the role but Meadow already feels like home!”

She takes a great deal of inspiration from her close friends who, themselves, enjoy successful careers alongside being Mums. She also paid tribute to her sister and all those other females who have made a successful career from farming saying: “It’s a very physical job and a male dominated profession. She does a brilliant job and I’m proud of her.”

Our late Queen has also been an inspiring figure for Debbie due to the dignity with which she served and how she always put her people first.

When it comes to advice for young women who are just starting out in their careers, Debbie says: “Always be yourself and only care about the opinion of people who matter to you.

“Life is short, so enjoy it!”

Rosie Kinvig – National Account Manager, Dairy

International Women’s Day to Rosie Kinvig, one of our National Account Managers, is all about reflecting on the incredible contributions that women across the world have made, and continue to make, to our society.

Rosie says: “It’s about looking past perceived barriers and acknowledging all that you are as a woman, congratulating yourself, congratulating females around you and pushing them to be more than they may think they are.”

As part of the Commercial team, helping to drive Meadow forward as a business is central to her role, whether that’s through winning new business, strengthening relationships, or cementing the brand’s positive image within the industry and beyond.

Despite being a passionate sportsperson, Rosie didn’t have many female sporting icons to aspire to growing up due to a lack of exposure of women’s sports. However, the England Women’s Football team served as a real inspiration following their success at last summer’s Euros.

Despite making history by ‘bringing it home’, members of the squad, almost immediately, set about using their platform to demand real change for women’s sport and improve young girls’ sporting accessibility.

Rosie advises any young women whose careers may be just beginning to “know your worth!”

She says: “We all bring something to the table. Keep being you, keep powering on and keep being brilliant at what you do.”

Pamela Harrison – Group Operations Director

International Women’s Day provides Pamela Harrison, our group operations director, with an opportunity to take a step back and look at the progress that’s been made in gender equity during her lifetime.

She says: “It’s great to be able to consider all the positive changes that have taken place. Women have moved from the peripheries to the heart of the food industry and it’s great to see so many enjoying fantastic careers within the sector.”

Pamela has been at Meadow for just over 15 years and as group operations director, she is responsible for health and safety and technical capital across our four sites.

A trailblazer at Meadow, she was the first woman on the executive team and the first female site director.

Pamela has been inspired by a whole host of female figures and cites those serving in the army, and playing for sports teams as women she admires the most.

She says: “I don’t have a specific role model, but I do admire confident woman that work hard, are comfortable in their own skin and achieve where not expected in a male oriented world.”

Her advice to young women about to embark on their careers is: “Go for it, there are no areas that you can’t succeed in.”

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