The panel was presented as an International Women’s Day event, discussing the topic of “breaking the bias”.
Fonterra’s managing director of people and culture, Kate Daly, said the company had reviewed the panel and changed it to two women and one man.
“We recognise that we did not get this event right,” she said.
Fonterra is having a Women's Day panel event and ALL THE SPEAKERS ARE MEN pic.twitter.com/uyEY3M8zgo
“It’s important that we have both men and women talking about gender diversity so that we can all work together to overcome gender bias in the workplace.”
Fonterra is having a Women's Day panel event and ALL THE SPEAKERS ARE MEN pic.twitter.com/uyEY3M8zgo
— Elliot Weir (@elliotjweir) March 3, 2022
Daly said it was one of many events it had lined up for International Women’s Day on March 8, and the company was committed to improving gender diversity and breaking down barriers that exist for women.
Fonterra also defended itself in a tweet, which said men also had a role to play in overcoming bias.
In 2018, Fonterra’s board approved an aspirational target to increase the number of women in senior leadership to 50 per cent by 2022.
Currently, of the 11 board members at the company four are women.
International Women’s Day is designed to globally celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness about bias and take action to ensure equality.
