Opinion: Celebrating the achievements of women in farming

Today, Wednesday, 8 March, is International Women’s Day, an event to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness about discrimination, and take action to drive gender parity.

It is also a great opportunity to think about the possibilities and challenges for women working in agriculture.

While I was growing up, it was almost unheard of for women to run farms, but times are changing. In recent years female farmers have gained a lot more exposure, inspiring others including myself.

See also: Women in Food and Agriculture – highlights from 2022 summit

TV programmes such as This Farming Life, which put a lot of female farmers into the public eye, have encouraged and supported girls to take on physical outdoor roles.

Emma Gray is inspirational as she runs a farm, raises a family and teaches her spouse from outside the industry how to farm.

Social media accounts, such as Zoe Colville’s @thechiefshepherdess, also demonstrate that girls can farm even with no prior background or experience in the industry.

As farming is going through a time of uncertainty and change, it has never been more important for the industry to be diverse and inclusive, to attract new entrants and gain public support.

It is therefore important to step back and think about how we can overcome the challenges for women and welcome people into the industry regardless of gender or background.

Challenges

A Farmers Weekly and Barclays survey found that “industry attitude” is the second-biggest challenge women face in agriculture.

Although views are changing, it is much more common for women to be encouraged to take off-farm work or lead diversifications, rather than to take leading roles on the farm.

With 61% of women saying they are never or rarely treated equally when it comes to succession, they are often not given the same opportunities as men to make those leading decisions on the farm.

The attitude while I was growing up was that girls should work hard at school, get a good job (off the farm), and then, if they were interested in farming, marry a farmer.

It can be difficult to overcome people telling you that you aren’t capable of farming or shouldn’t be doing it because you’re female.

However, there are plenty of people who won’t care what gender you are when you get in a tractor, catch a sheep or calve a cow.

Fortunately, machinery is “equality enabling” within farming, regardless of physical strength, and skill is now becoming more important.

Confidence

For me, it was perhaps going on to study and work in engineering (another male-dominated industry), that gave me the confidence to try my hand at the traditionally male-dominated roles on the farm.

It could also have been because machinery and a shift in mindset are enabling female farmers to become more visible in the community.  

I have found huge fulfilment in doing practical work, being outdoors and connecting with my family heritage in the South Devon landscape, alongside setting up Tuckenhay Farm Meat Boxes.

I hope more women and girls feel able to choose this path in the future.

So, on International Women’s Day, if you are a man, why not celebrate the achievements of the women around you, alongside thinking about how you could help to welcome more women into the industry?

And if you are a woman, know that there is a place for you within farming, and the best way to support and encourage others is to get stuck in and be visible within the industry, to show other women (and men) what we are capable of.