Rural women leaders

Talks to some of the women making waves in New Zealand agribusiness.

Federated Farmers president Katie Milne has lost track of the number of people who have called her farm in Kumara on the West Coast, asking to talk business with the man of the house.

Within minutes, she will often hear her husband say “I’ll hand you back to the boss, she can help you,” as he returns the phone to her.

This is because although the farm is a partnership, Milne is usually the one managing the books and keeping the business side of things ticking over.

She says it used to be a common source of amusement for rural women when these calls came in.

As the role of women in agribusiness becomes increasingly recognised, however, the calls have become less frequent.

“When we started out, the first 10 to 15 years, there were just hundreds of those calls,” Milne says.

“A lot of people outside farming might not realise agribusiness is hugely influenced behind the scenes by women. We are complete partners most of the time.

“But it’s not necessarily widely known because we don’t step out into the fore, but that is changing.”

A lot of this change is being driven by the growing number of women stepping into leadership roles in the sector — not least Milne herself.

Just last month, she became the first woman in Federated Farmers’ 118-year history to be appointed president.

New Zealand’s lack of women in business leadership roles has long been highlighted as a major issue.

The NZX’s gender diversity stat- istics show that in 2016, just 17 per cent of listed company directors were female — unchanged from the previous year. Of the top 50 listed companies, just one has a female chief executive — Kate McKenzie of Chorus.

According to business leader Mavis Mullins, however, the agri sector has a forward-thinking view on the issue.

“Based on the optics, it looks like women are pushing through a bit quicker in agribusiness than other spaces,” Mullins says. “But I think there’s also a lot more understanding that if we’re going to get ahead, we can’t do it with 50 per cent of our population latent.

“We have to engage the smarts of everyone if we want to make a difference.”

Although exact statistics are hard to find, the industry certainly has a high proportion of women in top leadership roles. This includes the likes of Kirsten Bryant — director at Beef and Lamb, Dawn Sangster — director at Alliance Group, Fiona Hancox — director at Silver Fern Farms, Nicole Rosie — chief executive at WorkSafe New Zealand, and Fiona Gower — president of Rural Women New Zealand, to name just a few.

“We’re noticing a lot more the growing number of women coming through, not just in agribusiness, but in rural leadership roles which is great to see,” says Gower, adding that a lot of those women have been to university or gained other qualifications they bring to the business.

The changing view of a traditional farm and farmer is also helping the role of women to be recognised.

“When you look at the quality of the women on boards or as CEOs of agribusinesses, it’s amazing,” she says. “And these people aren’t picked for being women, its because they’re the best person for the role.”

Lindy Nelson, founder of education and training organisation AgriWomen’s Development Trust (AWDT), puts it more simply.

“Women are roughly 50 per cent of the human capital that makes up our primary industries — their role is vitally important. It is pretty much 50-50,” she says.

The primary industry spans a number of sectors including sheep and beef, horticulture, agriculture, wool and fibre, forestry and wine