International Women’s Day: Recognising the barriers faced by women ‘overlooked’ in agriculture

Today, the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee has also launched its ‘Breaking the Grass Ceiling’ report, which has found women are often not treated equally to men.

This report highlights the barriers faced by local women working in agriculture, and also makes a number of recommendations on practical and policy measures that could be introduced to promote, encourage and support women in the sector.

While 98 per cent of respondents agreed that women help improve farm productivity, a staggering 70 per cent described the culture within the sector as a “challenge”.

As well as not being treated equally, there is also a lack of acceptance of women farmers in some quarters, it has emerged.

AERA committee chairperson, Declan McAleer MLA, revealed: “Our survey also found that, as well as undertaking hands-on tasks, many women in the sector juggle their work with running the household, managing finances and paperwork as well as looking after children and older relatives.

“Some 67 per cent of respondents noted that they also hold down jobs ‘off the farm’.”

Mr McAleer was speaking after the launch of the report. He commented: “Local women play a crucial role within the farming and agriculture sector and are, in many ways, the backbone of family farms, often spearheading diversification and modernisation.

“However, unfortunately, their role has been overlooked for decades and issues, including traditional practices of farm inheritance, have prevented women from entering and thriving in, what is typically seen as, a male-dominated environment.”

He added: “In carrying out this review it was vitally important to us that we heard from women directly.

“We were, therefore, delighted to receive nearly 180 responses to our survey from women living or working in the local agriculture industry.

“Our findings highlight the complexity of challenges faced by women and the range of practical, social and cultural barriers which prevent them from taking on opportunities and progressing in the sector.”

Mr McAleer continued: “Unlike other jurisdictions, the role of women in agriculture here has received comparatively little policy attention.

“Scotland, for example, has implemented a series of effective measures following the recommendations of a ‘Women in Agriculture Taskforce’, while the Irish Government has pledged to increase grant support for women farmers to upgrade their machinery and equipment and to establish women-only knowledge groups.

“We are now calling on the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to follow suit by implementing our recommendations and to begin this process by commissioning an independent, academically-led review to understand further, the issues affecting women in the agricultural sector.”

The West Tyrone representative said they realise this review will not “level the playing field for women overnight”, but the committee is confident it will “shine a light” on the key issues and provide a “clear path towards developing a holistic approach to policy change within the sector”.

“On this International Women’s Day, we will also be bringing a motion to the assembly calling on MLAs to recognise the practical, social and cultural barriers faced by women in the industry, and to acknowledge the crucial and valuable role that women play in running farms and agri-businesses,” Mr McAleer concluded.