Cheese Market News: Women in Leadership Featuring Jen Pino-Gallagher
M3’s Jen Pino-Gallagher is featured in the Women in Leadership section of Cheese Market News to share her inspiring journey, insights, involvement, and vision for the future of cheese and dairy.
What is a key industry insight you’d share with yourself 10 years ago if you could?
When asked about a key industry insight, Pino-Gallagher emphasized the significance of a strong and diverse workforce along with key statistics.
The main commonality that ties every dairy farm, dairy processor and dairy warehouse together is a robust workforce. And the need to find ways to overcome the obstacles that women face in the workforce. During the pandemic, unemployment rates for women were consistently higher than for men…The dairy industry is trying to address the gaps in pay and create more flexibility with schedules to help workers balance the demands of home and work, and I think many organizations have made good progress.
— Jen Pino-Gallagher
Director of Food and Agribusiness Practice
How can the industry motivate the next generation of women to pursue a career in dairy?
Pino-Gallagher notes that in order to motivate the next generation, it is crucial to instill passion for the industry in young women of urban and rural communities (farms, cities, suburbs, and small towns). Statistics show that only 1% of the U.S. population today works on farms — even less on dairy farms. This is why outreach outside of the industry is essential!
Cheese Market News is a weekly trade newspaper dedicated to serving the cheese business in the domestic and international arenas.
