The International Dairy Federation (IDF) awarded the International Dairy Foods Association’s (IDFA) Women in Dairy network with the IDF Dairy Innovation Awards for Innovation in Women Empowerment. The awards celebrate the global dairy sector’s commitment to innovation, showcasing forward-thinking initiatives that enhance efficiency and align with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Becky Rasdall, senior vice president of trade and workforce policy for IDFA, accepted the award at the IDF World Dairy Summit.
“IDFA is honored to accept the 2024 Dairy Innovation Award for Innovation in Women Empowerment, recognizing IDFA’s Women in Dairy network for its efforts to advance gender equality in the U.S. dairy industry,” said Rasdall. “Empowering women unlocks greater innovation, strengthens our decision-making, and ensures the long-term sustainability of our industry.”
IDFA’s Women in Dairy network works to improve recruiting, retention, and gender equality within the U.S. dairy sector through data-based metrics and tools, C-suite engagement, and by fostering networking and professional and leadership development. The network—now consisting of more than 1,100 women and men from across the dairy supply chain—provides monthly educational and networking programming, year-long mentoring circles, in-person events, and industry benchmarking efforts
One of the newest opportunities IDFA has made available to women is catered leadership development opportunities through its Women’s Summit. The inaugural conference brought over 50 women from all corners of the dairy industry together to network, advocate on Capitol Hill, develop valuable leadership skills, and hear from passionate and celebrated women from across various disciplines about their experiences as women and leaders. IDFA is excited to continue this opportunity annually, with the next event slated for March 10-12, 2025.
IDFA has also prioritized benchmarking industry-wide progress on gender equality, facilitating executive-level dialogue, and promoting policies that better support, attract, retain, and develop women in the industry. In early 2024, IDFA released the first State of Women in Dairy Report, which analyzed the attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and policies affecting women employed throughout the dairy supply chain including adjacent industries.
IDFA recently released the second iteration of the State of Women in Dairy survey, a tool that will help track the dairy industry’s continued progress towards improving gender equality. The survey, and more information about ongoing Women in Dairy network programming can be found here.
IDFA’s Women in Dairy network was also recently featured in the 2024 IDF Women in Dairy Report, further emphasizing the importance of the network’s programming, networking and training opportunities as a tool to achieve the goal of furthering gender equality. That report can be found here.
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation’s dairy manufacturing and marketing industry, which supports more than 3.2 million jobs that generate $49 billion in direct wages and $794 billion in overall economic impact. IDFA’s diverse membership ranges from multinational organizations to single-plant companies, from dairy companies and cooperatives to food retailers and suppliers, all on the cutting edge of innovation and sustainable business practices.
Together, they represent most of the milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt and cultured products, and dairy ingredients produced and marketed in the United States and sold throughout the world. Delicious, safe and nutritious, dairy foods offer unparalleled health and consumer benefits to people of all ages.
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