on International Women’s Day
March 8, International Women’s Day. But also the day the first issue of Women in Ag Magazine was published, exactly one year ago. A symbolic date to launch a magazine for and about women in an industry where gender inequality is still a major stumbling block. While we have published beautiful stories about women succeeding in both their professional and private lives over these past four editions, we cannot remain silent with regards to issues of gender inequality and discrimination.
Unfortunately, the perception many still have of women’s roles in agriculture reduces them to the caretakers, of the young animals, of their children, of their household, of their husband – the Farmer. In the perception of many, a woman farmer is “the farmer’s wife”. In fact, as I translate this from my original Dutch text, my translation tool suggests precisely this term as a translation for “farmer”. This perception is far from today’s reality, and yet… even though women worldwide are increasingly becoming the equals of their male partners in the business, a study* shows that only 42% of the women surveyed say they are given the same opportunities as men. 31% even say active discrimination has increased.
We’re talking about the “little” things, like asking if the farmer is home when a woman welcomes you at the farm, or non-adapted work clothes or tools. But it’s also about big things like denying access to equal opportunities, limited rights in (financial) decisions or not taking the complaints or ideas of women in agriculture seriously. These are all examples of how much work remains to be done we, at the Women in Ag redaction, read or hear as ‘our’ women tell us their stories. Micro-aggressions that we either experience ourselves on a regular basis or that we witness far too often still. They are what motivated us to create this magazine.
While we want our magazine to focus on the positive stories, this doesn’t mean we want to shy away from talking about the hard reality of being a woman in this industry. We are relieved to notice that we are not alone. More and more machinery and tractor manufacturers or agrochemical companies understand the true role of women in agriculture. More and more of these companies go looking for the women in our industry and want to talk to them, listen to their concerns and difficulties and actively try and do something about it in the future. A future where equality is not a buzzword , but a reality.
A future where a Women’s Day will hopefully no longer be necessary.
Happy first birthday, Women in Ag Magazine.
Happy International Women’s Day, dear readers.
Please make it count.
Kim Schoukens
Editor-in-Chief Women in Ag Magazine
* Source research Corteva 2018
