The State of Women in Food & Beverage survey of 462 women reveals that while they find their work meaningful, they face significant workplace challenges including limited leadership opportunities, lack of formal sponsorship, and barriers to advancement. The data shows that nine in ten women believe female leaders strengthen company culture, yet only 37% of leadership roles are held by women, indicating a stalled pipeline in an industry that claims to want more diversity.
- Leadership gap: 63% of women work at companies where women hold 40% or less of leadership positions, despite 90% believing women leaders improve company culture.
- Sponsorship shortage: Women rank sponsorship above mentorship as their top need, yet only 8% say their company offers a formal executive sponsorship program.
- AI and flexibility: 68% report AI has improved their work, and 84% have remote or hybrid options, but one in three say using flexibility still costs women more than men.
- Career stage gaps: Women under 35 worry most about job stability, while women 55+ are least likely to speak up, with only 56% feeling safe voicing opinions at work.
- Barriers to advancement: Top obstacles include lack of visibility (38%), work-life balance concerns (37%), and absence of executive sponsorship (31%), with 42% of women experiencing gender bias having already left their employer.
Females in Food asked 462 women to describe their last 12 months in food and beverage in one word. The most common answer was “challenging.”
“The women in this survey find the work meaningful, but they are also carrying more than the systems around them were built to support. Both are true at once. This report shows where that tension appears in the workplace, and what support women need to stay and advance,” says Angela Dodd, founder and CEO of Females in Food. “Two years ago, we launched the first State of Women in Food & Beverage survey because our community deserved more than anecdotes. We knew what women were experiencing, but we needed evidence of the full picture we could put in front of CEOs, CHROs, and boards. This year, our network responded in force. What the data describes is a leadership pipeline that has stalled well short of what the industry itself says it wants.”
Key takeaways:
· Nine in 10 women believe women in leadership strengthen company culture.
· 63% work at companies where women hold 40% or less of leadership roles.
· When asked to describe the past 12 months in a single word, all respondents said “challenging,” followed by fulfilling, exciting, growth, rewarding, and engaging.
· 78% of women say they are aligned with their company's values, however, only 63% feel a sense of belonging and 61% feel respected and appreciated.
· 5 themes defined this year’s report:
1. AI is improving women’s work, and the worry sits with women under 35. 68% of women say AI has already improved their work. Women under 35 are the most concerned about long-term job stability.
2. Women want sponsorship, and almost no company formally offers it. Women rank sponsorship above mentorship and want visible advocacy in promotion decisions. 8% say their company offers an executive sponsorship program.
3. Flexibility is now standard, and using it still costs women more. 84% have remote or hybrid options. More than one in three say using flexibility costs women more than it costs men.
4. The road to the C-suite runs through the functions where women are fewest. Running a food business requires command of supply chain, operations, procurement, and commercial work. 12% of the women in this survey work in supply chain, operations, or purchasing, and those are also the functions where women report the most bias.
5. Building for different stages of women’s careers. The pressures women report change with age, and most companies run one program for all of them. Nine in 10 respondents say women in leadership improve company culture, yet nearly two-thirds work where women hold 40% or less of leadership positions.
· Women rank sponsorship above mentorship, and are asking for advocacy and the visibility that comes with it, more than for guidance. 25% want leadership development programs; 24% want executive sponsorship programs; 17% want equal pay audits; 15% want mentorship programs; 9% want flexible work policies; 5% want parental leave beyond legal minium; and 2% want employee resource groups.
· What women say stands between them and leadership – 38% say lack of visibility or recognition; 37% work-life balance concerns; 31% lack of executive sponsorship; 20% organizational culture not supportive of women in leadership; 20% no barriers; and 14% gender bias or discrimination.
· 84% of women say their company offers work-life balance, up from 72% in 2025. Flexible working hours moved the other way: 64% say their company offers them, down from 83%. Parental leave beyond the legal minimum is shrinking too, from 38% to 31%.
· The road to C-suite brings to light lower compensation, which tops the list at 43%; slower promotions follow at 36%.
· 42% of women who have experienced gender bias have already left an employer over it. 38% are considering it now.
· Common themes impacting the future of females in food and beverage industry are changes to corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs; industry consolidation, layoffs, and doing more with less; and difficult experiences with a female manager or peer.
· 90% of women in this survey agree that women in leadership improve company culture.
· Women 55 and over are the least likely demographic to speak up. 56% feel safe voicing their opinions at work, the lowest of any age group; among women under 35 it is 69%. They also report the lowest sense of respect and belonging in the survey.
