Three-year project studies women in agricultural leadership roles

Thursday, November 5, 2015

by SUSAN MANN

The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council is surveying women and men to find out what impedes women from advancing to leadership roles within agricultural industry groups and businesses.

The first part of the three-year project, called Supporting the Advancement of Women in Agriculture, is a 15-minute online survey. It’s open until Nov. 30.

Project manager Debra Hauer says their background research shows only eight women are in lead roles, either board president or chair, within a group of 65 national and provincial agricultural associations. Eight of the 65 groups had women who were second in command, either vice-president or vice-chair. Eighteen of the 65 groups had women in executive committee roles.  

Women are increasingly pursing agricultural-related courses at universities and colleges. “In some programs, women make up the majority of students,” she says. “Women are moving into a variety of different roles within the industry.” However not many women currently are in leadership positions.

Hauer says along with surveying women, they’re asking men for their opinions on the barriers women face to moving up the ladder to leadership spots within groups and businesses because part of what they want to find out is if women’s perceptions differ from men’s.

For the second part of the project, the council will be developing tools to help women lower any potential barriers. “That can’t happen unless men are involved. It’s important to hear from both sides.”

The background research shows some of the barriers include a lack of confidence to pursue more senior positions, the perception of farm groups as “an old boy’s club,” a lack of mentoring opportunities, few women role models at senior levels or insufficient time to pursue top management positions due to juggling other commitments such as off-farm jobs and child raising.

Farm groups or agri-business corporations may not realize “there’s a perception that there’s a barrier to women moving into senior management or executive roles,” she says. The project is focused on determining what organizations can do to be more inclusive and to help women work within organizations.

Hauer says when the council talks about leadership roles within agriculture, it’s not just referring to senior elected or staff positions in farm groups or senior staff people in agri-businesses. It’s also referring to “managing the farm, being the farm operator. Are there barriers to somebody realizing that role?”

The project has support and contributions from national and regional agricultural associations, training and education providers, women’s groups and the Status of Women in Canada. An advisory group of women in agriculture representing all sectors of the industry is overseeing the project to ensure the results are meaningful, a council news release says.

The council works to develop and communicate solutions for employment and skills development challenges in primary agriculture. BF