Women in farming participate in a full range of activities, but their contribution is often overlooked and more support is needed, according to Laois-born Professor Sally Shortall of Newcastle University.<\/p>\n
Prof. Shortall is one of the chief authors of a major report on women in farming and the agriculture sector for the Scottish government.<\/p>\n
The research, commissioned by the Scottish government into the role of women in farming, showed that women\u2019s contribution to the farming industry is significant; but with appropriate support from policymakers and farming organisations, it could be even more.<\/p>\n
A task force<\/strong> has been set up to implement the report’s recommendations, Prof. Shortall told a meeting of South-East Women in Farming Ireland (SEWFI) in Carlow on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n Women were found to\u00a0play a major role in Scottish agriculture.\u00a0Some were\u00a0combining farm work with off-farm paid or voluntary work and\/or childcare and household management.<\/p>\n Like their male counterparts, they were extremely busy working long hours, particularly as new entrants.\u00a0Many came into farming by choice or through marriage.<\/p>\n Most of the women surveyed believed in the importance of their role. However, over a third<\/strong> thought their career was progressing more slowly than anticipated; 41% said their existing skills were under-utilised.<\/p>\n While over half said they had a role in both day-to-day and major decision-making, 20% reported that this was not the case; over half would like the opportunity to play a bigger part in decision-making.<\/p>\n The research\u00a0found a lack of training<\/strong> opportunities tailored to their needs.<\/p>\n The cultural practice of passing large farms intact to one son<\/strong> was seen as a major barrier to women\u2019s entry into agriculture.<\/p>\n The report found that women are unlikely to inherit land unless they didn’t have any brothers.<\/p>\n On tenanted crofts in Scotland, there were particular issues as only one tenant can be named, and this tends to be a male partner, the report stated.<\/p>\n Women may select themselves out of the industry because they have no expectation of inheritance; or they may be discouraged from taking up tasks on the farm during childhood, or acquiring skills as they grow up, the researchers observed.<\/p>\n Women were found to be significantly underrepresented in farming organisations.<\/p>\n Few women were in elected positions, and in many cases, whole committees and boards did not have any female elected members.<\/p>\n There was a belief among some farmers of both sexes that men would refuse to vote for female candidates, according to the report.<\/p>\n An environment was created that, in some cases, felt hostile to women and could undermine their confidence, the researchers said.<\/p>\n Even though there was often farm membership, it was nonetheless presumed that the ‘head of household’ \u2013 usually the male \u2013 was the member; he would be eligible to stand for election, while other family members were not.<\/p>\n Some women chose to join women only<\/strong> organisations, such as Ladies in Beef and Women in Dairy, where they may have felt more comfortable; but might also be diverted from aiming for a more influential<\/strong> role in mainstream organisations such as the NFU, the report said.<\/p>\n There were fewer issues for women becoming involved in business associations, with many holding senior elected positions.<\/p>\n Women in business were found to be able to combine childcare with professional responsibilities more easily, even bringing their children to work if necessary, with far fewer safety issues<\/strong> arising than would be the case in farming.<\/p>\n Inheritance of businesses and\/or resources did not seem to be a barrier to women\u2019s entry as in farming, said the report.<\/p>\n If enabled to play a more substantial role, women in farming could potentially contribute to a number of areas.<\/p>\n These, it said, could include: ideas for diversification and for adding value<\/strong> to existing businesses; a\u00a0good understanding of consumer needs and preferences; and novel ideas for innovation on the farm.<\/p>\n Another benefit, according to the Scottish report, could be clearer and fairer communication within farming families about issues such as succession planning, inheritance and resources.<\/p>\n Policymakers, the report said, need to consider: changing inheritance patterns; promoting better advice about succession planning;\u00a0financial incentives for the purchase of equipment appropriate for women and safer for all users; grant support for diversification; and training opportunities that fit with women’s lives – acknowledging existing skills.<\/p>\n Farming organisations need to consider a number of issues, the Scottish report recommended.<\/p>\n These include: bringing women into mainstream organisations; a quota system; and a talent bank<\/strong> of women willing to stand for election as well as a commitment to bring more young women into the system.<\/p>\n Lorna Sixsmith of the SEWFI group said that, in the absence of similar research in this country, it was interesting to hear Prof. Shortall’s findings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Women in farming participate in a full range of activities, but their contribution is often overlooked and more support is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3429,"featured_media":292689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[8858,1823],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292617"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3429"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Major Role<\/h2>\n
Slow Progression<\/h2>\n
Inheritance Issues<\/h2>\n
Under-represented in Farming Organisations<\/h2>\n
Business Comparisons<\/h2>\n
Benefits<\/h2>\n
Considerations for Policymakers<\/h2>\n
Absence of Irish research<\/h2>\n