JJ exceeds warehouse women target

JJ Foodservice said it has achieved its 20 per cent target for employing women at the Enfield warehouse.

Women now constitute 23 per cent of the branch staff, up from 4 per cent in 2017, when the wholesaler pledged to employ more females as part of its diversity initiative.

“It’s important to have a diverse workforce at all levels – it helps to make our industry a more attractive place to work,” Sedat Kaan Hendekli, JJ’s head of operations, said.

Many JJ managers start in warehouse roles, learning the job from the ground up. “It’s a great way in to get more gender diversity into our talent pipeline,” Hendekli added.

The wholesaler in October appointed Jaz Sandhu in a newly created role of Learning and Development Manager to increase training and progression within the business.

JJ previously ran a Warehouse Women recruitment campaign which used female-friendly images in adverts to challenge the stereotype that warehouse jobs are only for men.

The campaign has also helped to attract more females into nightshift positions. “Our nightshift now has 5 per cent female staff, versus zero per cent last year”, Hendekli said.

JJ, which operates across eleven UK branches, is a founding supporter of Women in Wholesale and the founder and organiser of Women in Fish and Chips, an event dedicated entirely to female shop owners.