Cultivating Change: Fighting stereotypes in a 'mans world'.

In my opinion, loving the work isn’t quite good enough to gain respect on the farm. Being a woman in agriculture I felt (and I still do) that I had something to prove. I had entered an industry where woman are severely underrepresented and more often than not, face scepticism about their abilities. Showing an interest wouldn’t make people respect me, I needed to prove I could work just as well as the men. The sense of needing to work harder, to show I belonged, is something I’ve struggled with from the beginning. This struggle isn’t something unique to just me. In the UK, only 22% of farmers are women, which reflects the long-standing gender imbalance in agriculture. 


 

Operating machinery, helping with livestock and managing heavy, physically demanding jobs came with an unspoken pressure. I felt my mistakes would be amplified – not because I was new, but because I was a woman. I didn’t want my mistakes to reflect my gender instead of just part of the learning process. 

This is more down to self-doubt as growing up it was something I struggled with, and I was often reminded I’m more than capable of anything I set my mind to if I just believe in myself. However, on the farm I had constant, forceful encouragement from my family, pushing me to work. My dad's no nonsense approach definitely helped me- his confidence in me forced me to build my own in myself. 


My dad after planting 2022 was finished!


Among a few of the offhand sexist comments I’ve encountered while working, one in particular stands out. It was my second harvest, I’d been driving the tractor carting off my brother who was on a demonstrator combine. The salesman, who had been watching me work all day and came over for a chat. He asked if my plan was to just ‘handle the farm books’ whilst my brother did all the work with the machinery. I was pretty stunned. Although he may have meant it harmlessly, his words stung me. I had just worked all day proving to everyone I can work just as well as the boys and I get asked that. However, comments like this fuel my determination to prove myself and to show I belong here just as much as anyone else. 


Grandpa taking home the last load of tatties this year! 


 

Putting the challenges aside, I cannot fault the people I work with daily on the farm, especially my family. Their support, patience and willingness to teach me have made a huge impact. My grandpa, in particular, stands out.  He’s from the same generation that make the occasional outdated comment, yet he couldn’t be more encouraging and proud of what I do. His unwavering support reminds me that being from an older generation doesn’t mean you have to hold onto old biases. He's also a fountain of knowledge about farming, and still works tirelessly, day in day out!

 

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