There is not “equality on the ground” when it comes to women in farming and the agri-sector according to Minister of State Pippa Hackett.
Speaking at the National Dialogue on Women in Agriculture in Portlaoise today (Wednesday, February 1), Minister Hackett told the conference that everywhere she goes, from “farm visits, industry meetings, marts, the local co-op – everywhere is dominated by men”.
“It is easy to say that this is how it has always been, and always will be. But that is slowly changing, and it needs to change.
“As a minister, I have met so many women who are pushing the boundaries of traditional roles and are achieving the very best for farming across the country,” she said.
Minister Hackett said it was important to acknowledge that “not everyone finds it easy being a woman in agriculture”.
“It can be difficult, and sometimes lonely,” she said, adding that she hopes today can “offer some hope”.
The minister shared at the conference that she had “often been introduced as [her] husband’s wife, rather than a farmer in my own right”.
“When people come onto our farm and meet me, the first question can often be, can I talk to himself or is the boss around?
“Of course, this is often unintentional and certainly not premeditated, but in a small way it does condition the sector to seek male assurance, approval, and management in so many farm enterprises. We must challenge this status quo,” Minister Hackett said.
According to Minister Hackett, the key objective of today’s conference was to hear the views and feedback from women in farming and agri-business from across the country and feed that into future national policy on the issue of greater gender equality in agriculture.
The conference heard from a wide range of speakers including dairy farmers, academics, businesswomen and politicians – including former German Minister for Agriculture and CDU/CSU economics spokesperson, Julia Klockner and Glanbia plc CEO, Siobhán Talbot.
Minister Hackett stressed that the first National Dialogue on Women in Agriculture was “not a box-ticking exercise”.
“All of today’s deliberations and feedback will be reviewed over the coming weeks, and a report on the dialogue and its outcomes will be drafted to inform what we as policy makers can do to facilitate greater gender balance,” she said.
“But government and state bodies cannot do this alone. Farm bodies, representative groups and farmers themselves, male and female, need to be part of this effort,” she warned.
During the conference Minister Hackett also highlighted that many women farmers have embraced farm diversification projects.
She told farmers and agri-business leaders that diversification and innovation was important to ensure that Ireland has “a viable and sustainable agri-food sector”.
“Diversification can play a huge part in meeting the sustainability challenge, environmental and economic.
“Irish farmers can diversify their enterprises to ensure they are well positioned to proactively to respond.
“To support such diversification, significantly increased funding has been put in place under the new Common Agricultural Programme (CAP) 2023-2027.
“As a female organic farmer, I am encouraged by so many of the women I met in the sector over the last number of months – many of whom convinced their other half to move to organics for a better quality of life for their family,” the minister said.