According to recent data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, 24 Fortune 500 companies currently have no women on their boards. Land O’Lakes, a leader in its industry, is one of the companies on this embarrassing list. It is fundamentally unfair and repugnant that gender inequality can prevent a woman from joining Land O’Lakes’s board of directors, no matter how hard-working, deserving, or qualified she is. Lack of gender diversity is so last century! 

Land O'Lakes is a member-owned agricultural cooperative based in Minnesota, focusing on the dairy industry. Land O'Lakes has around 1,000 member-cooperatives with about 10,000 employees who process and distribute products for about 300,000 agricultural producers. It is ranked third on the National Cooperative Bank Co-op 100 list of mutuals and cooperatives. The co-op is one of the largest producers of butter and cheese in the United States. It handles 12 billion pounds of milk each year.

As one of the most recognizable names in dairy goods, Land O'Lakes makes products used by families around the country. Women make up a significant percentage of the company’s consumers. This makes it even more unfathomable that Land O’Lakes does not include any women on their board. Land O'Lakes should try harder to find at least one qualified woman to serve on its board of directors!

Sign this petition and ask Land O’Lakes to add at least one female member to its board of directors. 

Adding women to Land O’Lakes’s board will significantly increase Land O’Lakes’s profits and makes business sense. A 2015 McKinsey and Co. study determined that companies in the top quartile of gender diversity are 15% more likely to financially outperform those in the bottom quartile. A 2014 Catalyst study found that having more women in leadership and board positions resulted in better financial performance while increasing innovation and group performance. 

A gender-diverse board will increase Land O’Lakes’s competitive advantage. Diversity of thought, view, and experience will give Land O’Lakes a competitive advantage because it will help the company consider new perspectives, ask different questions and recognize fresh trends and opportunities. Companies that do not have women on their boards miss out on the perspective of more than half the population. 

As an industry leader, supporting gender equality puts Land O’Lakes on the right side of the issue. Does Land O’Lakes need its peer companies or government to remind it to do the right thing? Does Land O’Lakes want to be on the wrong side of history? As a company of high stature, visibility and influence, Land O’Lakes has the resources and footprint to create a positive legacy. By solving its board of directors gender diversity problem, Land O’Lakes can continue cementing its position as both a corporate and social leader. 

I am a founder of Women Serve on Boards, a General Counsel at a leading technology company and an enthusiastic advocate for women and gender equality. As a Land O’Lakes customer, female professional and mother of two daughters, I would like to see more relatable female role models and leaders at every level of Land O’Lakes. The change must start at the top. I hope the next generation of women will benefit from a more equal society and that Land O’Lakes can lead the charge in getting us there. After all, this is 2016. Why should one’s gender make it impossible to serve on the board of directors of Land O’Lakes?

I genuinely hope that you join me in urging Land O'Lakes to take steps toward gender equality on its board. Thank you very much in advance for being a socially responsible leader. Together, we can pave the way to a more equal future.