Sexist comments damage NZ image: farmers
Sexist responses to a backpacker’s job advertisement are a blow to New Zealand’s image and to an industry already struggling to find good workers, farmers warn.
Finnish traveller Mari Vahanen advertised on a farming Facebook page, saying she was a hard-working farmhand or machine operator.
The post received 1600 responses, but most of them focused on Vahanen’s appearance rather than her employment prospects.
Tararua dairy farmer Micha Johansen said the comments were a bad look for the agricultural sector and for New Zealand.
‘‘It makes us look like backwards idiots. We need good workers but why would anyone want to come here after that?’’
Johansen said the number of comments from men made the industry look male-dominated, which it wasn’t.
‘‘It doesn’t represent the farming sector at all because there are so many women working in it and none that I know would put up with that kind of treatment.’’
However, not all women had an experience like Vahanen’s when using social media to find farm work. Sheep farmer Sophie Barnes said she had gone online to find work in New Zealand after arriving from the United Kingdom three years ago.
‘‘I’ve never had a problem finding work on social media nor any comments like that. I used to just put tweets out and they got shared around and I found jobs that way.’’
Barnes said she added photos to most of her posts to boost their visibility but the pictures were usually of her dogs. ‘‘Maybe a different type of photo would have worked better,’’ she said.
Although surprised by the reaction to her advert, 28-year-old Vahanen was unfazed.
‘‘I don’t really care what people say about my looks, so no – I didn’t get upset. I’ve worked in a male-dominated industry and you always get those few odd people who think women should go sit in the office,’’ she said on Monday.
‘‘I like my job and I’ve worked with so many great people who’ve always stood up for me.’’