Farm organisations urged to sign gender diversity charter
© Adobe Stock Farming organisations in the agricultural sector and its ancillary industries are being urged to show their commitment to improving gender diversity by signing Farmers Weekly’s Level The Field charter.
The charter is made up of a simple set of six principles, including making a conscious effort to put a gender-balanced set of staff forward for speaking engagements or media requests; providing equal opportunities for all staff to network; and sharing the stories of women in your organisation.
The full list of commitments is available below.
See also: Find all our Level the Field content in one place
Diana Overton, deputy managing director at Frontier, which has signed the charter, said: “We’re strong supporters for the introduction of this charter.
“We’ve made progress on gender diversity as an industry, but we believe we can all do more.
“This shared commitment will help us all to increase awareness of best practice and accountability, which should in turn help to drive further change.”
Other current signatories to the charter include the Country Land and Business Association, Arla, ADM, the AHDB and The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture.
Signing the charter is not a guarantee that all the commitments are currently met by an organisation, but all signatories pledge to recognise the principles as important best practice and commit to working towards achieving them.
Any business which signs the charter will be provided with a logo they can use on their website and branding to demonstrate their commitment.
The hope is that the charter can be used as a means to bring about more change in the sector and hold each other accountable.
Charter commitments
- Commit to providing appropriate training, workwear and equipment for all employees and make adjustments/provide alternative equipment as necessary.
- Make a conscious effort to put a gender-balanced set of staff forward for activity that raises their profile and breadth of experience – for example, training and development, speaking engagements, media requests/projects and public-facing events.
- Provide equal opportunities for all employees to network.
- Ensure all staff receive appropriate equality, diversity and inclusion guidance, so that everyone knows what their organisation expects of them in terms of behaviours.
- Use appropriate and balanced imagery and language on websites and in advertising, avoiding stereotypes; especially showcasing women in positions of influence /leadership.
- Share the stories of women in your organisation – ensure equal “airtime” is given to women’s voices and stories as much as possible (even if the balance of male versus female employees is not currently equal)