The Women’s Meat Industry Network (WMIN) has only been around for three and a half years, but its impact is profound. Created in early 2021 by a group of female leaders from multiple sectors of the industry, WMIN works to educate, develop, promote and retain women in the meat industry, with a honed focus on inclusivity and professional growth. WMIN is available for anyone at any stage of their career; through WMIN, industry can connect, exchange experiences and ideas, and access resources for career and personal development.

To further explore the WMIN mission and impact on the meat industry, The National Provisioner sat down with Sharon K. K. Beals, WMIN executive director.

For those unfamiliar with the Women’s Meat Industry Network, can you explain the network’s overall goal/mission? 

Sharon Beals: The WMIN mission is to make achieving the powerful benefits of gender diversity a shared goal in the meat and poultry industries.

We are focused on retention of the talent we have today, while encouraging more to join us.

We want to eliminate the barriers that slow progress and limit opportunities within our industry.

The group is not exclusive to women, but open to anyone with an interest in promoting our values. We are proud to have our male allies standing with us and speaking up for us when we aren’t in the room.  

How can those looking to get involved with WMIN first get started?

Sharon Beals: Step 1 – Sign up!

Step 2 – Join a committee.

Except for my joining the organization in May of 2024, everything, and I mean everything that this organization has accomplished since early 2021 has been through the efforts of the countless volunteers that staff our board and committees. And for the record, my role is just part time, but it’s a labor of love for an industry I have been in since 1980.

I can’t stress enough the gratitude we have for all of our sponsors, without whom we wouldn’t be able to support the Professional Enrichment webinars, the Mentoring platform that launched last year (cohort 3 will be starting up in March 2026 with some exciting new options), the Employee Resource Group How-To Guide that we debuted this year at IPPE and showcased at the Annual Meat Conference. That guide was a collaboration of several of our members and spearheaded by board member Sandra Sage with Clemens. Sandra is a great example of, when we say we are a working board, we mean it!

What opportunities for involvement does the Women’s Meat Industry Network offer throughout the year, both in person and online?

Sharon Beals: We meet where people are, as we don’t have our own separate conference. These events include the International Production & Processing Expo, Annual Meat Conference, Reciprocal Meat Conference and the Protein Pact Solutions Summit. New in 2026, we are branching out to smaller regional events to connect with even more members. First up is the Wisconsin Association of Meat Processors (WAMP) in April.

I mentioned our webinars—the most current are posted online on our website. We aim to educate, and in the case of the pork carcass/charcuterie demo, add a little entertainment along the way.

With help from Francisco Najar, Ph.D, and Phil Bass, Ph.D, at the MeatsPad, we’ve branched out into podcasts; the most recent were interviews with Lyda Garcia, Ph.D, and Betsy Booren, Ph.D, at RMC. Garcia is a meat science and extension professor at the Ohio State University, the RMC host University, and Booren is the managing director, regulatory policy and business intelligence with Tyson and was the president of the American Meat Science Association Board.

I know I’ve already talked about the mentoring platform, but it is worth more than a passing mention. Since its beta test in late 2023 to current date, we’ve had 578 participants, which is about 25% of the current membership. We currently have 170 mentoring connections as we head into cohort 3 in 2026.

We are very excited about the addition of the Communities and the Guided Conversations features that are debuting once we are done with the beta testing.

Lastly, the Most Impactful WMIN of the Year Award. With every passing year, the field of nominees grows, and it gets tougher and tougher for the selection committee, which includes the past recipients and board member volunteers. This year was no exception. While only one walks away with the award, all the finalists are leaders in the industry that have made significant contributions during the course of their careers. Our finalists are being featured every week on LinkedIn, and the big reveal will take place Oct. 9 in Los Angeles at the Protein Pact Solutions Summit.

Julie Anna Potts, Most Impactful WMIN of the Year 2024, featured with Sharon Beals (left) and Angie Krieger (right). Photo courtesy of Jennifer Dibbern

Can you explain how WMIN members can get more deeply involved with the network?

Sharon Beals: As I mentioned, the committees are where the action is. These include the Communications team. This group does all the social media posts, which includes our monthly shoutout to a member via the “Hear Her Story” posts that are put up on our website and on LinkedIn, as well as our upcoming events, webinars and recognizing members for their achievements with the WMIN hashtag of #WMINMakingMoves.

The Mentoring Committee is solely responsible for everything related to mentoring. From drafting the RFP for the selection of the platform to administration of the matches, checking in with the members and making improvements like the aforementioned Communities and Guided Conversations.

The Events and Networking group coordinates all the in-person events including topics and speakers. Their efforts drove the expansion to regional events like the WAMP meeting this coming April. Stay tuned for more collaborations!

The Professional Enrichment team puts on all the virtual events, the podcasts and the webinars. I am very excited to tune into the next session, which features a few CFOs from our membership and is titled “Beyond the Numbers: What Your CFO Wants You to Know.” This webinar takes place Sept. 17, 2025, so be sure to register now.

What future do you see for the Women’s Meat Industry Network?

Sharon Beals: Here are the goals of our 3-year plan that we crafted earlier in 2025.

WMIN members continue to thrive through sponsored access to our comprehensive network of resources and opportunities, enabling them to reach their full potential in the industry. This solidifies WMIN as the cornerstone of support and development, with a Year One goal focused on retention within the industry. Attraction of talent, in addition to retention, will be the focus as we transition from Year One to Year Three.

We’ll achieve this through our 3 Strategic Imperatives:

• Engage and support the membership
• Develop strong industry leaders
• Provide sponsor value

Each committee and the board have specific goals and KPIs to deliver to our Strategic Imperatives; these are reviewed quarterly by the executive committee and the board to ensure we are staying on track.

Here’s a fun fact: Since 2024 our membership has doubled to over 2000, and the number of sponsors has tripled. Have I mentioned how much we appreciate our sponsors?

Last, we want to continue to keep this organization available to all in the industry without worrying about personal financial burden. I know I’ve said this before in many places; we are here for everyone, from the flock supervisors to the C-Suite. Nearly 25% of the membership has registered as entry level or student. While a $50 membership fee may not sound like a lot to many, that’s someone’s child’s school lunch for a two to three weeks depending upon which data source is used. I am humbled by our sponsors that believe in our mission and back it up with not just financial support, but give their members that most precious commodity called time. This enables participation in the committees, the programming and the board.

The members are the engine that keeps this organization moving forward, and the sponsors provide the fuel. We in turn help turn those junior members into tomorrow’s leaders.