Women’s voice
Women in aquaculture group aims to improve gender balance
THE assembled female high achievers who turned up for the launch of the Women in Scottish Aquaculture (WiSA) network in March suggested an industry with a healthy gender balance. In the room, at the Stirling Court hotel, were, among others, the Institute of Aquaculture’s new head, Selina Stead; Dawnfresh farming boss Alison Hutchins; the CEO of the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), Heather Jones; and aquaculture professor Sandra Adams of the University of Stirling.
There are other notable female leaders in the sector: the head vets at some of the big salmon companies, and several women who are running marketing and sales departments, and occupying critical positions in aquaculture’s export drive. And the chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation is a woman.
But the statistics tell a slightly different story. In the UK as a whole, 53 per cent of the workforce is male, and 47 per cent female. In Scottish aquaculture, between 2012 and 2016, 88 per cent were male and just 12 per cent were women, according to Marine Scotland data.
There are more part-time males employed in Scottish aquaculture than there are full-time females, said Heather Jones.
‘So not only have you got more men to start with, but they are getting parttime opportunities – and there aren’t that many of these.
‘There’s a challenge there back to the companies and any employers, including the university: what are you doing to make it easier for women to have flexible careers and work flexibly if they need to?’
Jones spearheaded the WiSA initiative following a survey conducted by SAIC, which revealed backing for such a women’s group, with 73 per cent of respondents, both male and female, noting their interest in joining.
The aim of the new group, which drew representatives from across the aquaculture industry in Scotland to its launch, is to encourage more women to join the sector and to offer them mentoring and support. The group will be industry led and co-chaired
by Char
lotte Maddocks, health manager at Mowi, and Noelia Rodriguez, operations manager at Scottish Sea Farms.
It will also include Rowena Hoare and Sophie Fridman, both senior research fellows at the Institute of Aquaculture, as well as Robin MacLean, policy manager at Marine Scotland. Mary Fraser, head of skills and talent at SAIC, will act as group secretary.
Jones, who will sit on its leadership group, said: ‘The creation of WiSA is an incredibly exciting and important step for aquaculture in Scotland.
‘Our aim is to raise awareness of the opportunities available to women in the industry, encourage more female participation at all levels in the sector, and provide support to those entering or already working within aquaculture.
‘The industry is full of potential; however, if it isn’t attracting the best people from across the talent pool, it’s unlikely to fulfil that.’
Graham Black, head of Marine Scotland and one of the speakers at the WiSA launch, said he believed the gender imbalance was something ‘we can change and reasonably quickly’.
‘I see a huge change in the organisations I’ve worked in – civil service organisations, in the UK and Scotland – a huge change in attitude.
‘We used to put some of the slowness down to generational issues but I don’t think we can use that as an excuse any more.
‘Although no spring chicken, the people I was at university with, I don’t think we had that history of thinking in terms of gender stereotypes to the same degree.
‘[There are] a lot of people in positions now who really are ready for a significant change. And we can change.’
He said when he arrived at Marine Scotland a couple of years ago there were no women on the senior team; now about a third are women. That was not achieved with positive discrimination, but by doing simple things, such as making sure job adverts are more open to diverse working patterns, making sure the language used is reasonable and open rather than bedded in the past, and making sure people in recruitment are trained in unconscious bias.
However, he said there is still ‘a bit of a glass ceiling, certainly in science’, some of which is
down to when vacancies arise and people staying in jobs a long time.
‘We have a good proportion of women in Marine Scotland Science and yet it’s quite difficult to see people getting into (and beyond) a certain level – that’s as far as it goes.
‘A lot of it is about confidence, identifying opportunities when they arise, and that’s where the network will help. It will make a big difference to industry and a big difference to Scotland.’
WiSA co-chair Charlotte Maddocks said they had secured First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s support when they visited the parliament the day before the launch. She even agreed to come out to a farm, her first visit, with WiSA.
Maddocks, who was aquaculture manager at Tesco head office before ‘fulfilling the dream’ and working out on the sea as a fish vet for Mowi in the Outer Hebrides, said it can be tough for women in the industry.
‘The gender pay gap results are published in the morning and you realise you’re the wrong side of that statistic; you try to join in the lunchtime conversation until you realise that you hate golf, you despise shooting; then, at your afternoon meeting, you look around at a packed room but out of the 20 humans in the room you are the only female.’
At Tesco, a mentor told her to stop apologising and just speak up more. She reflected and realised she had taken a step back, especially when there were a lot of loud, assertive voices in the room.
‘And if I wanted to be heard, as my mentor put it, I had to stick my neck out. I started to speak up, be heard and stop apologising, and immediately it was evident that what had been assertive voices changed to more diverse and rewarding conversations for everyone.
‘You can look at all this as an opportunity to be the change. Bring your talented, hard-working, valuable contribution to the table and change the conversation.’
The WiSA group will host a series of networking events during the year at the major salmon, trout and shellfish producing regions of Scotland, featuring special guest speakers.
The group will also launch a Facebook networking group and an online platform, hosted on SAIC’s website.
Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said ahead of the launch: ‘We are fortunate to have so many talented women working in our farmed fish sector, bringing a wealth of expertise, knowledge and skills to businesses all over Scotland and particularly in remote rural areas.
‘I hope that WiSA will now help to encourage more young women with science, technology, engineering and maths related degrees and qualifications to take up careers in aquaculture businesses.’
For more information visit www.scottishaquaculture.com