Member Spotlight on Amie Burke

She kindly shared her thoughts on self confidence, gave her insights into how to find your inner power and how businesses can support a more diverse workforce, topics that will be covered in more detail during our panel session ‘The Power of Diversity’ during our UK & Ireland conference on 17th May.

Amie is a fantastic advocate, not just for Meat Business Women but women working in the sector more broadly. By shining a light on the incredible women who make up the Meat Business Women community in all job levels and functions, we want to highlight their career journeys, not only to celebrate their achievements and unique perspectives, but to help to inspire and encourage other women along their own way.

Please share a little more about yourself and your career journey so far.

I’m Amie, Brummie born and bred and attended Harper Adams university by mistake but it turned our to be the best mistake I had ever made!

Growing up in a very urban environment, I had an instant shock to my core when I started at Harper and started to learn more about rural life, including an update to my wardrobe so I was able to fit in (yes, I mean tweed).

When I graduated I really didn’t know what I wanted to do, my degree was business management and it left my options too vague and open, whilst everyone was getting their graduate jobs I was very last minute but eventually found my way at AHDB.

It turns out you spend a lot of your career not really knowing the next step and that is ok, just do something you enjoy because it makes the biggest difference. I have worked directly with farmers on business improvement, worked across supply chains on efficiency projects for primary production. I have travelled the world completing sustainability audits and I have led on leadership training with farm businesses – very diverse.

I am now the Inclusivity Programme Manager at IGD. I work across the whole food and drink industry inspiring senior leaders to create workplaces where everyone can thrive.

The theme of our UK & Ireland conference this year is The Power of You. How do you define self-confidence, and what do you think are the key elements that contribute to it?

Self-confidence is seen as such a dirty word and it really shouldn’t be the case. Having the skill to reflect on your strengths and the ability to talk about them will ensure you open up opportunities that you may not even know exist.

But as we know, women are inherently poor at this skill because it can be seen as egotistical, the key is balance.

For me, I spent years thinking “people won’t care what you’re doing or how great you are at something”, I was wrong and I found this out when I started actively using Linkedin. It is a platform to show what you’re doing, to find collaborators and networks and get the great communication out.

These small regular posts leave nuggets in peoples minds, so they then contact me when they have a question. The more that people contact me the more my self-confidence has built, to show that it isn’t about boasting but simply reminding people of your worth.

How do you believe the food sector can attract and retain more diverse talent, and what initiatives have you been involved with in this regard (if any)?

I think TIAH (The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture) are jumping leaps and bounds in this area.

They have not only recognised the challenge of diversity but also taken accountability, which has not been done before – historically the blame has been put on others, usually government or the individuals themselves.

But TIAH have stood up and said “we need to change this and it starts here”, followed up by creating ambassadors of individuals from diversity facets who actually exist in farming and food roles.

Because diversity does exist, we just don’t highlight it enough and the more we can put these ambassadors forward, the more we will attract diversity of thought and creativity.

What advice would you give to other business owners who are looking to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace in the food sector?

Creating inclusive workplaces where everyone can thrive will bring so many benefits, especially around recruitment and retention. McKinsey data is consistently showing the productivity gains of these businesses, sometimes achieving six times more success than their competitors who don’t have inclusive strategies. I would say that it starts with you as a leader, being a true sponsor and supporting diversity and inclusion, even when it becomes uncomfortable.

Start to open your own vulnerability by admitting you don’t have all the answers and seeking to understand from others, one conversation can change your entire perspective.

This is what I do on a daily basis, bring together business owners, CEOs, MDs etc and put them into a reverse mentoring conversation with someone who has lived experience in one of the diversity facets.

By listening to their challenges or barriers in the workplace, the leader can go away and remove them in their business and create opportunities for all.

What advice would you give to other young professional women who may be struggling with self-confidence and finding their inner strengths?

Set your boundaries! Some people look to please others, in order to get the praise that they’re doing the right job, but this can be taken advantage of very quickly.

It isn’t sustainable to work long hours and take on tasks just for validation.

The sooner you can find self-validation, have your confidence that you’re doing a great job, then the sooner you have your boundaries and assertiveness to say no – it’s a tough one, but will change your life (career wise).