Irish Country Meats is one of Europe’s leading lamb processors, combining craftsmanship, innovation and quality in every cut.
We’re proud to be globally recognised for innovation in the lamb category, giving our customers a true competitive edge.
Through our partnerships with farmers and producer groups we’re helping to protect the environment and secure the future of Irish farming.
A recent Meat Business Women report shows that 36% of the meat industry’s workforce is female, with 14% of those at board level and only 5% in executive roles. As well as the industry in general, at ABP we need to do better. That’s why we’ve launched a new initiative: ABP She.
ABP She is a programme that promotes female empowerment in our business. It will identify and support female talent, work to close the gender pay gap in the meat industry and make every career opening in the company visible to each woman who works with us.
We designed ABP She following consultations with focus groups, and discussions with women employees, which brought up the obvious fact that there is a lack of female role models in the business.
To begin addressing this problem, each ABP site has nominated two female employees to train as mentors of their colleagues. Mentorship will become a self-renewing programme as it helps us to identify others who want to become mentors. We hope that it will encourage women to grow in their roles and beyond them, claiming opportunities in an atmosphere of equality and esteem.
An employee assistance scheme will offer information on subjects such as the menopause, and family challenges. Free sanitary products will be available at every ABP facility and site. The company will also implement protocols to eradicate unconscious bias and non-inclusive language.
ABP She is part of our drive to be more progressive in our own company as well as offering an example to our industry. As far as promoting gender parity is concerned, it’s about time.