Working women have never had it better than in the 21st century, here in Canada. Canadian laws have made it so women and men have equal job opportunities (and in many cases, more opportunities), and identifying as a female can mean many financial opportunities as well (in the form of scholarships, etc). And most, if not all, jobs can be done by women. So why don’t we see more women working in the Agriculture industry? I think this is because on some level, many women (and men) still think of Ag as ‘a man’s world’, avoiding opportunities such as heading major agricultural businesses and bringing innovation to the industry due to societal beliefs and traditions.
The reason I say this is because a lot of people (men and women alike) assume I want to have a traditional farm-based support-role, like tending to the gardens, or horse barns, or be a secretary at a big tractor company. Others just can’t understand that I want to bring Agriculture to the forefront of Canadian lives, and introduce and increase Ag education in Canadian schools, using my design, marketing, and communications skills. I’ve also noticed that there are not as many women in the Ag industry as men.
So let’s create a new campaign to get more women into agriculture. This can start with creating ads exposing the many opportunities in Agriculture, and providing Ag scholarships specifically for women. The stereotype is that Ag is a man’s world; I think we need to change that to ‘Ag is everyone’s world’.
This post has been re-posted here at TheNerdyAg.wordpress.com, initially published by the same author at a different URL. Original Posting Date: October 27, 2013
The Nerdy Ag 