International Women's Day 2023 #EmbraceEquity
It's International Women's Day (IWD) so we're taking the opportunity to introduce you to some of the inspirational (and dedicated) women in our apprentice community.
#IWD2023 is about fully embracing gender equity and understanding the difference between equity and equality. Equality means each individual or group of people are given the same resources or opportunities - whereas equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.
Statistics from Skills4Work, the leading butchery training association, show a 126% increase in female butchers entering the trade from 2019-2022 and this number is continuing to grow.
IWD 2023's campaign theme aims to get the world talking about why "equal opportunities are no longer enough." Read more about this here.
Sam Chapman
We spoke to Sam Chapman who is currently a 2IC at New World Prestons to learn more about her journey as a female butcher and how we can inspire more women to get involved with the industry. Sam is in her second year of her apprenticeship and started her career as a packer 16 years ago. Sam realised she knew most of the ins and outs of butchery, but was not a qualified butcher, so decided to complete her apprenticeship and her career has blossomed since.
Sam, as a woman working in butchery, have you faced any barriers or challenges?
No I haven’t so far, but having to adjust to a more physical work load has been difficult. I still really enjoy it.
What is the most important piece of advice you’ve been given?
Take in the now and the rest will fall into place - don’t rush.
How can we encourage more women to pursue butchery as a career?
They need to see how fun it can be and understand that we can really do anything!
What is the most important message for young women thinking about getting into butchery?
Don’t be afraid of putting yourself out there or thinking you’ll be alone – a lot of women are working in butchery these days.
If you could have dinner with the most inspirational woman, dead or alive, who would it be?
Jazz Thornton - the strength she has after everything she’s been through in life and to make something out of it all is so incredible.
Porsche Davis
Porsche Davis, creator of the 2022 supreme sausage at the Great New Zealand Sausage Competition, just flew into the third year of her apprenticeship after a career in cooking meat turned her interest towards the art of preparing raw meat. Porsche now has the ability to not only sell meat but advise customers on how to cook it too.
As a women working in butchery, have you faced any barriers or challenges? If so, how did you overcome them?
I’ve been told by customers who don't know me that I’m not an apprentice butcher because I’m a female and look too young...I’ve learnt to ignore the comments and just get on with my job! It’s not easy to convince people that females can be successful butchers, but they definitely can.
What is the most important piece of advice you've been given?
Don't stop fighting to prove yourself in this world – you are a brilliant female.
How can we encourage more women to pursue butchery as a career?
We need to show them that it's not just a male dominant trade, and that anyone can do any job if they put their mind to it.
What is the most important message for young women thinking about getting into butchery?
I would say just go for it - prove to everyone that regardless of gender, anyone can find enjoyment in any type of job and succeed.
If you could have dinner with three inspirational women, dead or alive, who would they be and why?
Alison Meagher - I’d like to have a nice conversation with and get some ideas on how she came about secondary cuts of meat, and how they’re changing this century.
Julia Poplawsky - it would be great to talk about leaving the culinary side of things to become a butcher and co-founder.
Alana Empson - I would love to talk about how to improve my skills and how she keeps smashing it as a butcher.