USDEC research assesses women’s roles in the global dairy industry against the backdrop of the International Year of the Woman Farmer.   

Though the pace and path of progress varies from country to country, women are rising through dairy's technical and commercial ranks worldwide, with farming emerging as the next frontier. That is the headline finding from new research conducted by the U.S. Dairy Export Council’s (USDEC’s) Strategic Insights team, which surveyed 38 dairy buyers across 12 markets in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and North Africa.

The research was conducted between August and October 2025 as part of the USDEC’s annual U.S. Dairy Brand Health Assessment. It comes at an appropriate time: the United Nations designated 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer and launched a global campaign to recognize women’s contributions to food systems and to promote policies that close gender gaps in agriculture.

This blog post highlights key themes that emerged across markets. To read more about select individual success stories and accomplishments, please click here. 

Progress real, but uneven

The findings paint a picture of genuine, albeit uneven progress. In China, leading dairy processors and retailers, including Mengniu Dairy, Yili Group, Danone China, Nestlé, and Lawson Shanghai, are expanding opportunities for women across the workforce. One respondent reported that women now represent 60% of the procurement team and 75% of the quality inspection team at their company. Danone China’s procurement management is 58% female, and Yili has added two female independent directors to its board. At Lawson Shanghai, the share of women in fresh-food R&D rose from 50% to 70%, and in middle management from 35% to 50% in just a few years.

Southeast Asia tells a similar story. In Vietnam, the CEOs of two major dairy companies are women, and female employees dominate the food and dairy processing floors. One respondent from Morinaga Vietnam reported that women make up 60–70% of the company’s production and office support teams.

Even markets with traditionally lower female workforce participation are shifting. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 reforms have driven female labor force participation from 23% in 2016 to 34% in 2022. Egypt’s new labor law, effective September 2025, mandates equal pay, expands maternity leave to four months, and introduces flexible work protections.

“Over the past five years, the role of women in the Saudi dairy

sector has evolved meaningfully. With support from Vision 2030

and shifts in national employment policy, more women are now

involved in in quality control, R&D, dairy processing, and retail distribution." 

Food Manufacturer, Saudi Arabia 

More progress needed in leadership and farming

Despite such gains, executive leadership remains largely out of reach. In China, one of the most progressive markets, women hold less than 18% of senior executive roles in retail enterprises. Across markets, respondents flagged persistent stereotypes: that women are poor negotiators or that dairy farming is simply “a man’s business.”

“The main barrier is the perception that cattle ranching

(dairy farming) is a man’s business.”

Food Processor, Peru 

Roles on the farm show the starkest gap of all. When respondents were asked to rate women’s progress across seven categories, from pay equity to mentorship to hiring fairness, active participation in dairy farming received the lowest rating, at just 3.2 out of 5.

In South Korea, the cost of entry into dairy farming can reach $3 million–$5 million in land and milk quota rights alone, a barrier that affects all newcomers but disproportionately impacts women. In parts of Egypt and Vietnam, women’s work on family farms remains informal and largely invisible.

“When studying the transcripts, we noticed meaningful progress in women's roles in factories, labs, and procurement,” Sheets said, “but we also saw a consistent theme of the farm as having the most room for progress. This is partly because so many farms operate at a household scale, outside any formal inclusivity requirements, but also because of deeper structural realities like high capital requirements and long-standing cultural traditions.”

What’s working and what’s needed

USDEC’s survey isn’t the only one shedding light on women in dairy. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) study, The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems, found that addressing gender inequality in agriculture requires more than simply including women in projects. Effective intervention must challenge discriminatory social norms and outdated policies, such as land tenure rights and access to capital that prevent women from owning land and building lasting economic security. Women around the world are the primary procurers of food for the household—ensuring they have the financial resources needed to purchase nutrient-rich foods such as dairy can further boost the industry.

Findings from a separate regional survey conducted by the Pan American Dairy Federation (FEPALE) and USDEC in 11 countries in Latin America with 511 women involved in the operation of dairy farms support this assessment. The survey found that the most commonly identified future challenges were gender stereotypes (60%) and the way women are treated in the sector (58%). The survey also revealed a strong demand for training and technical assistance, highlighting the need to expand continuing education opportunities and improve access to specialized knowledge.

USDEC’s research identified several practices that are making a difference. Companies that offer childcare subsidies, flexible scheduling, and promotion-friendly parental leave report lower female turnover. Maeil Dairies in South Korea, the first Korean dairy company to appoint a female CEO, offers childcare assistance and flexible hours, and now employs more women than men.

China’s Mengniu Dairy offers a telling model with lactation rooms, psychological counseling for new mothers, and bonuses for second and third children, alongside formal programs to advance women into senior roles. The result is that women hold 25% of Mengniu’s senior executive positions, well above the national industry average.

“Over the past five years, the participation and role of women

in China’s dairy industry have improved significantly—there

was a shift from ‘auxiliary participants’ to ‘core managers.’

Food Manufacturer/Processor, China

Often, the progress gets overlooked simply because of lack of attention. Respondents in Japan reported steady gains for women, mostly in dairy manufacturing, R&D, and sales. “The trend is clear on the ground,” said one Japanese food importer noted, but “media coverage is limited, so the change is not very visible.”

The bigger picture

The FAO study shows that advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment is essential to women’s wellbeing, but it also identifies broad social and economic benefits for closing the gender gap. The FAO found that empowering women improves agricultural productivity, strengthens food security, and supports better nutrition.

According to FAO estimates, on a global scale, closing the gender gap in farm productivity and wages within agrifood systems would increase global gross domestic product by nearly 1%, or approximately US$1 trillion, reducing the number of food insecure people by 45 million.

All this research—from USDEC, FAO, and FEPALE—arrives at a pivotal moment. As the FAO’s International Year of the Woman Farmer focuses global attention on gender equity in agriculture, the dairy sector has an opportunity to translate commercial momentum into structural change.

“Women have proven their operational leadership across this industry,” said USDEC President and CEO Krysta Harden. “The opportunity now is to make sure that leadership is recognized, rewarded, and represented at every level—from the farm gate to the boardroom.”

Megan Sheets works on the U.S. Dairy Export Council Strategic Insights team as the vice president of Strategic Insights. She was the primary researcher for this report. This blog post is drawn from research as part of the 2025 U.S. Dairy Brand Health Assessment.

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The U.S. Dairy Export Council fosters collaborative industry partnerships with processors, trading companies and others to enhance global demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients. USDEC is primarily supported by Dairy Management Inc. through the dairy farmer checkoff. How to republish this post.