2021 Top Women in Grocery: Unprecedented Success

During an incredibly challenging year, as the grocery industry stepped up to meet the needs of concerned shoppers and associates, women working at stores, warehouses, suppliers and marketing research firms, from entry-level positions all the way up to the C-suite, rolled up their sleeves and pitched in to keep product moving, and employees and customers safe. Now that the threat of COVD-19 is receding and people are finally venturing out into the sunlight of what promises to be a celebratory summer, women across the industry are ready to help get the party started and keep it going with all of the necessary items and services.

Reflecting the exemplary ways in which the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic was vanquished, nominations for Progressive Grocer’s 2021 Top Women in Grocery program flooded in at a never-before-seen rate – more than 1,000 were received, smashing all previous records. To assess these candidates, who already represent the best and brightest at their respective companies, PG recruited its first-ever all-female judging panel, made up of 12 women possessing a vast collective breadth of retail knowledge. Working long hours in teams of two, the judges painstakingly sifted through the hundreds of nominations, eventually winnowing them down to 437 honorees – another record.

This herculean task was made all the more difficult by the sheer quantity – not to mention quality – of the nominees. It was truly humbling for the judges to read about the myriad achievements of the nominated women, ranging from creative programs in the workplace to activities to support the wider industry to selfless efforts to uplift their local communities. Although these feats would be impressive in any year, they took on  special significance at a time when people relied on the grocery industry more than ever, and found that it was there for them.

In that spirit, Progressive Grocer would like to pay tribute to all of the women – nominated or not – whose hard work and sacrifices helped grocers, suppliers and others stay afloat and able to serve their customers through a once-in-a-century public-health crisis. There may be “only” 437 Top Women in Grocery this year, but every last one of you is a winner.