The second day of the AIP’s '2025 and Beyond' conference saw PKN’s own Lindy Hughson host a panel discussion with three inspirational women from the packaging industry. The discussion was aimed at celebrating the achievements of these women, as well as discussing some of the challenges they have faced and overcome in this traditionally male-dominated industry.
Hughson opened the discussion citing some statistics on gender disparity in the industry supplied by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. In 2022, within the food product manufacturing sector, women made up only 10 per cent of CEOs and 30 per cent of senior managers, but 66 per cent of clerical and administration staff; and across all of industry, women are paid on average $26.6k less than men a year.
She then handed the microphone over to the panellists to share their respective career journeys, after highlighting that not only were these successful professionals all women, but also (Hughson included) all migrants, which she said pointed to the value of diversity in the workplace and the contribution migrants can make.
Maria Becerril Roman hails from Mexico and originally came to Australia to study a master’s degree in 2019. She became a member of the AIP a year later and is currently working for Mondelez International at the Cadbury factory in Ringwood, focusing on packaging innovation. In 2022 she won a silver award in the 2022 Packaging Innovation Design at the PIDA Awards for her Cadbury Roses packaging design.
You can hear more from Maria in our PKN Podcast interview with her after the panel here.
Anhelly Millan is originally from Venezuela, and having had a colourful career in multiple fields including packaging, has now turned her attention to education. In early 2022 she founded Sustainability for Kids and launched her first book – The World Behind Recycling – which is aimed at educating children on how to bring sustainability to their day-to-day activities.
You can hear more from Anhelly in our PKN Podcast interview with her after the panel here.
Azadeh Yousefi migrated to Australia in 2017 from Iran, driven by her strong passion for working in the packaging industry. She told of how in her home country there were many barriers for women in this field, despite having a master’s degree from a top university. She now works full time at Production Packaging Innovations and has won two PIDA gold awards for her designs.
You can hear more from Azadeh in our PKN Podcast interview with her after the panel here.
Roman’s main takeaway message was that she wants to encourage more women to get involved in packaging, and that with the 2025 deadline for sustainability looming, there is huge opportunity for innovators to get involved in the industry.
Millan expanded on this by stating that women have an obligation to “step in and step up”, adding that as a woman you will encounter those that want to keep you down, and so you should surround yourself with those who will support and mentor you.
Yousefi felt that many women, despite having excellent credentials, may feel hesitant to apply to work in a company that they perceive as male dominant. However, it is important to be “brave enough and strong enough” to convince an employer you are just as competent as anyone else.
The upcoming print edition of PKN magazine will dive deeper into the insights these amazing women have all shared, including their experiences as migrants, and how that helped them bring new ideas and innovations to the table.
PKN Women in Packaging is a platform for amplifying the voices of women in Australasia's packaging industry. This panel was presented in partnership with the Australian Institute of Packaging.
