Women’s History Month has been a time for us to honor the role women have played throughout our business and those who lead with excellence in all they do. To close out March, we are highlighting one group at Tyson Foods who is pushing boundaries and building an inclusive environment: Women in Tech.  

This group of professionals has even more reason to celebrate Women’s History Month this year – Tyson Foods recently named Danyel Bischof-Forsyth as the first female Chief Technology Officer.  

“I’m excited and honored to be the first woman CTO,” Danyel said. “My goal is to continue to have conversations about what it’s going to take to have more women in tech.” 

Her priorities, she said, are around recruiting, retention and development for women already in the organization and making sure these conversations are continuous. 

“[This position] provides an opportunity for me to raise the visibility of the amazing work women in tech have done, to provide an opportunity to make sure those stories are heard and continue to provide even more opportunities.” 

Danyel has already made an impact through her leadership in the organization. One thread that weaves through every Women in Tech initiative is mentorship — something Danyel herself has participated in.  

Surpriya Thorbole, Senior Director of Applications in Information Technology, says she asked Danyel to be her mentor years ago.  

“She was so inspiring,” Supriya said. “She comes to the table with a lot of research and shares tactical thoughts on how I can grow in this field. I am very excited to see that inspiration and work translate into how our tech organization develops in the future.”  

Moving forward, Women in Tech hopes to work toward three initiatives. First, to help women who are already Tyson Foods team members grow in the organization.  

Second is recruitment; inspiring women externally to make the move to Tyson Foods. Whether through high school engagement, college internships or external candidates looking for roles in technology, Women in Tech strives to make Tyson a leader in the space.  

The final initiative is awareness throughout our business and organization — a goal reflected through their recent potluck in celebration of International Women’s Day.  

Through a global potluck presentation at this event, nine women provided a look into their heritage, family traditions and customs. The result? A further understanding and appreciation for what makes every person unique.  

Events and initiatives like these are what pushes Women in Tech to support women in the workplace. Beyond the mentor/mentee relationship between Danyel and team members like Supriya, the group has plans for mentorships with students as well.   

In partnership with our Women’s Business Resource Group (WBRG), they have started building mentorship relationships with local Northwest Arkansas students, working with ten already this semester. Moving forward, the goal is to reach out and prepare more women to join teams with technology, computer science and business roles. Their vision is to inspire kids to choose these careers and ask questions like “What roles and jobs exist in this space? What are the possible paths, and how did people get there?” 

“This is very powerful,” Supriya shared. “When students get to talk and learn more about someone’s career path one on one, it provides a setting that gives them the chance to learn in a personalized way.” 

And the plans for their mentorship program don’t stop there. For upcoming semesters, the group hopes to have more structure to the mentorship program and to provide hands-on learnings such as job shadowing, resume building and one-to-one advisement.  

“When I think about my personal journey, I’m incredibly grateful for the mentors I’ve had,” Danyel said. “For those who have taken a chance on me and those who have supported me along the way.” 

Read more about our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and why we aim to be a most sought-after place to work here.