Giving women in agriculture a better deal

Sturgeon unveils taskforce to change outdated mindsets

By While strong women have played a prominent role in recent portrayals of the farming industry on screen and radio in recent years – and fulfil this role in many farming businesses – the sector still has a reputation as being one of the last bastions of sexual inequality, with the common assumption remaining that “the fermer” has to be a man.

But, in an attempt to shake off this mindset, a new initiative was announced at the Highland Show yesterday by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon aimed at ensuring women get better and fairer representation right across all levels of the industry.

The “Women in Agriculture” taskforce will look into key areas which will help women get a better deal in the industry – including the need for better succession planning, more appropriate health and safety, better access to training and generally better access to professional progression across the farming sector.

The initiative will be jointly chaired by rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing and wellknown and award-winning sheep farmer Joyce Campbell, from North Sutherland.

The announcement came as the Women in Farming and the Agriculture Sector report, the country’s first major investigation into issues facing women in agriculture, was also published at the show.

It recommended introducing mechanisms to help women progress from young farmers’ groups where they play a pivotal role on to more senior roles in sector bodies, the establishment of a talent bank of suitably-qualified women for farming positions and mechanisms to identify women mentors to support both male and female farm apprentices.

Ms Sturgeon said: “This government has always placed equality at the heart of all it does, and this report is a welcome insight into Scotland’s agricultural sector. While the report recognises the hugeoperate ly valuable role that women play in our farming sector, it also highlights some significant challenges that are holding women back from playing an equal and equitable role in agriculture. And these need to be addressed.”

Sturgeon said that the taskforce would help ensure the potential of women in farming was better realised in a forward-facing, 21st century Scotland.

The report, produced by researchers from Newcastle University and Scotland’s James Hutton Institute also recommended that agricultural organisations should a quota system in their leadership elections in order to achieve better representation for women and called for the traditional inheritance practices of passing on farms to one son to be challenged.