JJ Foodservice exceeds warehouse diversity target

More than one in five employees working in JJ Foodservice’s Enfield warehouse are now female – beating its target for greater diversity.

By the end of 2020, the foodservice wholesaler said women made up 23% of the people working in its depot – a significant jump from only 4% when JJ made its pledge to increase those numbers in 2017.

JJ ran a Warehouse Women campaign using female-friendly images and messages in job adverts to challenge the stereotype that warehouse jobs are only for men.

The recruitment drive doesn’t end there, with JJ proud of its employee development, which sees many managers of all genders beginning in warehouse roles.

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

“It [employee progression from warehouse roles] is a great way to get gender diversity into our talent pipeline.”

The focus on people at JJ is likely to move up another level in the coming months too, following the hire of Jai Sandhu as Learning and Development Manager at the end of 2020.

“We’ve just survived one of the toughest years in our 30-year history,” added Hendekli, “Our team is stronger than ever, and we are ready to take on 2021.”

diversity JJ Foodservice Sedat Kaan Hendekli Women in Wholesale