Here’s how Bronwynne Wilton, a Fergus, Ont. consultant who focuses on sustainability and innovation in agri-food and rural systems, puts it: “As we tell our children in grade school, being a passive bystander is just as harmful as being the bully.”

Most importantly, promoting a diverse, inclusive and equitable society is simply “the right thing to do,” says Wilton, who has heard disrespectful comments targeting women and racialized folks at ag meetings.

Ag businesses and rural communities also suffer when we turn a blind eye to intolerance on our farms, in our businesses and in our communities. “We risk losing talent from the industry and having a less vibrant sector,” says Wilton. We risk turning away young people from the industry, she continues. “Young people see a different world. They are the future of the industry and they want to move issues forward.”

The ag industry also benefits from having more perspectives at the table. We might connect better with the consumer base which is becoming increasingly diverse, says Wilton. Census data shows that almost a quarter of Canadians are visible minorities.

According to the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council, many farms are exploring ways to attract newcomers to Canada or are hiring foreign workers to fill their labour shortage. “But to attract the right people, you need to create a welcoming and inclusive workplace — a place where people of different genders, religions, nationalities, sexual orientation, languages and abilities can feel comfortable, respected and valued.”

Anne-Marie Pham, senior director of learning and knowledge solutions at the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, agrees. CCDI is a national charity that provides tools, training and resources to support workplaces across Canada to address diversity, inclusion, accessibility and equity. “If your organization is not responsive then you are not maximizing the talent pool of skills from all potential candidates and are not reflective of the diverse needs of Canadians who are your customers. There is a financial and social imperative to address diversity and inclusion.”

One of the reasons we may stay silent when we hear someone being targeted with disrespectful, exclusionary and racist comments is that we don’t know how to handle it. However, it’s important to realize there is no one right answer, says Pham. “Every situation is unique. You have to navigate each situation on an individual basis and find your voice at the right time.”

Pham offers the following guidance for these situations. First of all, take a deep breath and centre yourself before responding. Consider the offending person’s intent. Was it made out of ignorance? As well, if we are too quick to call out the behaviour, the offender may go into defensive mode and instead of actively listening they will find ways to defend their position, she says.

“It is better to find ways to call them in to conversation, to have meaningful dialogue as opposed to wanting to be right,” says Pham. “Speak your truth, your perspective within a space that feels like it’s a dialogue, not a debate. Encourage everyone to be open-minded… we all have biases but we can grow and learn from the experience as opposed to defending positions.”

Pham offers some additional options: You can interrupt a conversation by saying “I think that’s a stereotype” or alternatively, you can speak to the person afterwards.

When the person who has been harmed is present, you need to be sensitive and respectful of them. If you have a relationship with that person and know that they are comfortable with your speaking out as an ally, that is a different scenario than if you do not know the person who has experienced the harm, Pham explains.

Selam Debs, an anti-racist educator and business owner in Waterloo, Ont., says it gets easier to have these challenging conversations if you first self-educate on the issues. By “doing the reading, the researching and gaining the knowledge” to develop “a critical thinking lens,” you will be able to share from your own experience. “You can say, ‘I’ve been listening to the stories and reading about those impacted and the thing you’ve said is harmful to people of colour, women, those with disabilities, etc.’”

While fear of saying the wrong thing often keeps us from speaking up, Debs cautions that we have to accept that “it will never be done perfectly” but that “staying silent is to be complicit.”

“We can use this awakening, this awareness to create critical change in society,” says Debs. “When we have an understanding of how we got to be where we are, we can work at unlearning those things and learning how to take action.”

It is not enough to merely be “non-racist,” which is passive, agrees Pham. We need to go further and be anti-racist which is to “develop your capacity to apply an anti-racist lens to any situation so that you can critically analyze what is being said and when you need to challenge the status quo.”

“Especially if you are a white person, you can learn how to be an active ally which is a lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency and accountability with marginalized people,” says Pham.

Everyone has a role to play in building an inclusive society, continues Pham. Leaders can create a culture where everyone belongs. They see diversity as assets and by sharing an inspired vision and ensuring accountability at all levels they enable an organization to be more innovative, she says.

Wilmot Township councillor Angie Hallman took the lead role in introducing an Indigenous land acknowledgement which was approved by council in this rural township near Kitchener, Ont., in May 2019. Indigenous land acknowledgments were one of the 94 calls to action in the 2015 federal government’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission report which urged all levels of government to make efforts to repair the harm caused by residential schools and to move forward with reconciliation.

Hallman says she became aware of the need to take positive action as she learned about the truth behind Canada’s history. With the guidance of local Indigenous leaders, she crafted a meaningful statement that recognized the First Peoples who occupied the land in the past, our collective responsibility to each other and to Mother Earth, and our connection to this land where we live, learn and work together as a community.

Debs offers suggestions for how we can all take an active role, becoming allies and accomplices to those who are oppressed:

• Make use of resources to become more educated and to start thinking differently and asking critical questions.
• Advocate from where you are. Talk to your family: What books are we reading? What TV shows and podcasts are we consuming? Have conversations around the dinner table. Talk to your children.
• Tell people you don’t condone harmful racist, sexist or homophobic comments.
• Speak up at community and organizational meetings. Invite speakers and pass the microphone to amplify the voices of those doing this work.
• Look at your farm’s HR policies around equity, diversity and inclusion.

“We become the change we want to see within ourselves, our work spaces, and in relationship to others and in the community,” Debs says.

This is not about politics, she emphasizes. “It’s about empathy, compassion and connection… the root is love and community care. It’s about caring for those who are hurting and suffering.”

Resources

• The Anti-racism course by Selam Debs.
• How to be an Antiracist, 2019 book by American professor and author Ibram X. Kendi. Brené Brown interviews Kendi in this podcast.
• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, 2018 book by educator Robin DiAngelo, who reads excerpts from the book in this YouTube video.
• Me and White Supremacy, 2020 book by Layla F. Saad. Available in print or as an e-book.
• The Secret Life of Canada podcast.
• The EmbraceRace organization provides anti-racism resources for parents including a curated list of children’s books to help parents talk about race with their children.
• Birds of All Feathers: Doing Diversity and Inclusion Right, 2020 book by Michael Bach.
• Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion provides resources, tools and training tailored to specific workplaces.
• The Canadian government has launched the 50-30 Challenge on Diversity and Inclusion.
• Two important resources on First Nations issues are The Reconciliation Manifesto by Arthur Manuel and Grand Chief Ronald Derrickson, and “21 Things You Should Know About the Indian Act” by Bob Joseph.

The post Breaking the silence of racism appeared first on Country Guide.

“I actually understand Jean’s comments,” says Steph Towers, a young farmer from southwest Ontario. “My generation has the idea that if you just put your head down and work hard enough things will work out. We weren’t exposed to the real injustices, to the real inequalities women faced back then. Those were stories we heard.

“It’s hard to fight something you’re not sure exists. But as more of us get out in the industry, we see the challenges and barriers and become more aware that we need to be part of the change.”

Towers grew up on a hog farm and then worked six years on a large dairy before becoming herdsperson and HR director for Mackvilla Farms Ltd., the 120-cow dairy she and her husband Cameron run along with his family near Glencoe, a half hour west of London. At 31, she and Cameron have two small children, three years old and four months, and she spoke to me from her truck (hands-free) as she ferried the toddler to daycare.

Towers believes some things are better for women than they used to be, particularly in terms of employment in the industry. She points to Dairy Farmers of Ontario, an organization that boasts solid gender equity policies and is staffed largely by women in leadership and support roles. As for the boards and the committees that give direction to that staff and act as spokespeople to government… well, not so much.

DFO has only two women on their board of 12 directors.

There might be a reason. Towers now serves on her local producer committee, but was initially discouraged from doing so by the perceptions of others. “I was told you can’t run while you’re pregnant, and later that I shouldn’t run because it would be unfair to my children,” she says.

“In a corporate setting you simply could not say those things.”

No guff. Apparently the attitudes of previous generations are still very real; so, too, the concerns.

A Women in Food and Agriculture (WFA) survey released in December 2019 by AllTech reveals that gains have been made around the globe, but as with most recent studies — and we have been studied to death lately — a large majority of women in agriculture feel that big barriers remain to their career progress, including the gender pay gap, and the lack of mentors and a strong network.

Only half of women feel they are well represented in leadership of their organization, and only 43 per cent feel well-represented in the agri-food industry as a whole. No surprise, men generally feel women are better represented in all categories. Yet in Canada, as was mentioned in our November issue, the percentage of women in leadership roles across every part of the industry is significantly lower than either of those numbers.

It makes the objectives of the study a bit opaque. What do we gain by tabulating respondent perceptions of the workplace while providing no actual numbers to compare those perceptions against? Just because people think there are more women in leadership roles, that does not make it true.

In fact, an August 2017 Harvard Business Review article assessed five studies and found that, “seeing progress for women’s representation in top leadership (either spontaneously or after reading an article) leads both women and men to think that women have greater access to equal opportunities. This overgeneralization of progress, in turn, makes people less worried about the persisting inequalities that women face daily, across a variety of domains at work and beyond… These findings are worrisome because people’s concern with inequality ultimately predicts their willingness to address it.”

Respect and flexibility

Perhaps Steph Towers’s sense of things gone awry is warranted. With a marketing background, Towers now cobbles together jobs that “fit into the existing pattern of things: the farm, the family, all of it,” she says. But she wants to engage in the larger agricultural industry.

“Just because we have more on our plates doesn’t mean we can’t do the job. We are shoved into a box by people who tell us we don’t have time. But they need to set things up so we have the option and then let us make our own decisions about what’s best for our families,” she says. “The barriers are still there to equality in ag for women, so we need to create the environment where the door is open, and then it’s up to us to step through it.”

“We need more respect for women in agriculture who have a lot on their plate,” Towers continues, indicating reliable, affordable rural childcare with flexible hours would be a start for women with small children. And for all women, an understanding of the nature of their lives is key to their engagement both on farm and in the industry.

“We need to introduce flexibility that allows us to work from home and to use technologies that exist. There is still an emphasis on face-to-face meetings but that doesn’t work for women who have complex schedules and who live far from the venue. A video call instead would mean I don’t have to travel and I can still meet other demands.”

Within industry Towers would like to see a formalized training plan around gender equity for boards and committees, and she believes a corporate approach could even work at the farm level.

“Farming is a business, so why not have policies like any corporation?” she asks. “We have to follow Government of Ontario labour laws, so how is this any different?”

You could argue this might be hard to do within family operations, but perhaps policies and procedures would give clarity to everyone involved as women transition into the farm through marriage.

An industry-wide code of conduct is also needed, she says, citing the example of a salesman who showed up, watched her walk across the yard in her rubber boots and milking bib, and asked if the men were home because he needed to talk to someone who could make decisions. “I kicked him off the farm,” she says, adding, “The onus is on us to demand how we are treated.”

Whether women should have to make such demands becomes a moot point when faced with this kind of behaviour. It happens a lot. According to the WFA survey, almost half of women respondents have been mistaken for someone in a lower level position, compared to 27 per cent of men. If you aren’t a farm woman, you have no idea how much this pisses farm women off, and the irony is that many encounter this from people employed by agri-businesses that have internal gender equity policies.

Can the Syngenta’s show the way?

It turns out farm women and corporate executives aren’t that far apart on their vision for the future for women in agriculture. Industry standards are what Nancy Tout would like to see as well. The head of research and development with Syngenta Canada, Tout also leads their North America diversity and inclusion champion network. Born and raised in rural southwest Ontario, she participates in many capacities related to women in science and innovation in the agriculture industry.

She applauds all the networking and conferencing women are doing, but says, “We need to see changes in the workplace and at the board table because otherwise we’re having the conversations without any action.”

To that end, she organized Syngenta’s first Catalyst to Connect in 2017, bringing women together to facilitate discussion leading to action. While participants talked about the larger structural and social barriers to women in agriculture that Steph Towers mentioned, Tout was surprised to find women at all levels still dealing with the antiquated bad behaviour of men, basic sexist actions and attitudes that she thought were a thing of the past.

Yes, those attitudes, this year.

Is Jean Harrington wrong to say we haven’t come as far as we thought? Having dealt with these same issues as a young woman in agribusiness 30 years ago, and seeing the results of all these studies and consultations, it’s hard to argue with her assessment.

There’s more at stake than women’s careers. Nancy Tout insists that addressing this behaviour and moving toward gender equity is critical for women, but it’s also paramount if industry wants to take advantage of a projected $11 billion potential growth in agricultural technology.

“If we don’t make the industry inclusive, we won’t attract the best talent to tackle food security challenges, environmental sustainability and technology for agronomics,” she says. “From an innovation perspective we need a diversity of minds for product development and marketing.”

Under Tout’s lead, Syngenta is attempting to move toward inclusivity and diversity by establishing a specific matrix; understand the challenges, develop a strategy, and measure outcomes. The company supports grassroots groups of female employees and provides professional development and mentorship programs. Syngenta voluntarily publishes a gender pay gap report examining both salaries and benefits in its operations around the world. It’s a means of measuring the problem in order to find remedies.

“What gets measured tends to improve,” Tout says, a succinct way of indicating that good intention is not enough when it comes to addressing gender equity in agriculture. And Syngenta has by no stretch reached equity, something difficult to do with offices around the globe. While pay equity is mandated in some of the countries Syngenta works in, Tout admits many North American women don’t like mandates and quotas. But she supports them in some cases.

“We can be inclusive, or we can be intentionally inclusive,” she says. “Sometimes we need regulations or policies to spark that initial action.”

Do women merit a shot?

Define the challenges, make a strategy and measure the results. It sounds like a plan that could be implemented from a large corporation right down to the farm. But Steph Towers balks at the mention of quotas. “That’s a tough one. We don’t want to get something just because we are women. We need to merit it.”

But do we say this about men who have jobs? Do they all “merit” their position?

“It’s up to you to walk through the door, but the door has to be open,” Towers admits. “If it’s locked and bolted, it shouldn’t be up to you to figure out how to unlock it.”

In fact, some studies (reviewed in another HBR article March 2019) indicate that corporate meritocracy actually increases bias against women because it allows companies to deny workplace inequalities exist and to claim the under-representation of women is because of their own choices or inferiority.

Clearly it’s complicated, and Nancy Tout suggests solutions cannot be found by women alone. With little forward movement after the initial Catalyst conference, she says, “We had an ‘aha!’ moment. If it was up to us (women) we could move forward right away. But that’s not how it works and we need the men in the conversation.”

Love him or hate him

Some men are part of the discussion. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set the bar by ensuring gender equity in the Liberal cabinet in Ottawa, and this focus reaches across all government agencies, including the department of agriculture. Last year the federal government announced $500 million over three years for FCC’s Women Entrepreneur Loans Program to address the barriers farm women have in accessing capital.

This program is aimed at women farmers, agribusiness owners and those in food-related businesses. A one-time loan processing fee waiver is provided with the intent that money will be used to access skill development with access to capital available to new and existing businesses and farm women.

Candace Hill, manager of brand planning and execution at FCC, says the majority of initial uptake is from women in primary agriculture, which she says is interesting since the research found farm women have significant barriers beyond those faced by women in other parts of the industry, such as distance to urban centres and lack of childcare, as Steph Towers mentioned.

FCC conducted research in collaboration with EDC, BDC and provincial Women in Agriculture groups and found an abundance of available information, but the biggest challenge was an overall lack of awareness of how to access it.

“There are training, learning and financing options out there, but women have to know where to start and who to trust,” Hill says, so FCC created a consolidated list, with links to organizations and development opportunities. “It’s a launch pad.”

These are only a couple of government-based initiatives. Is it enough? Not likely. But maybe embracing such efforts is what action looks like, lobbying whoever is in power for the things women need to be successful.

This series began with the honest and astute observations of Leigh Rosengren in our November issue. “I can’t be your shadow,” she told her husband. “It isn’t enough for me.”

Define the challenges. Make a strategy. Measure the results. In taking these steps farm organizations, farm businesses, and perhaps most importantly for farm women like Steph Towers, farms themselves can ensure women have the opportunity to step into the daylight.

The post A question of equity appeared first on Country Guide.

For the first time in agriculture, though, this survey separated out pay by gender, and showed a gap of up to $20,000 in certain age categories. The numbers are shocking enough to dig in a little deeper and try to understand why.

Not surprisingly, the salaries on the survey tended to increase with years of experience, number of staff supervised and education level, with the professional agrologist (PAg) designations connected to the highest average annual salary.

The salary averages for educational services had the highest annual pay followed by those in the oil and gas industry and those working in research. And pay levels depended on exactly what kind of jobs they were performing. For example, CEOs, general managers and executive directors earn the highest average annual salaries followed by agrologists who work as project or operations managers and those working in teaching and research.

On average, public-sector agrologists earn more than their counterparts in the private and not-for-profit sectors. This is likely because the Government of Saskatchewan has a classification plan that is used for all government positions, and increments are given based on years of service and economic adjustments as negotiated through the collective bargaining process.

“Agrologists are typically classified at SGEU (in-scope) levels 10 (regional agrologist) and 12 (provincial agrologist), which is a pay range of $62,058 to $94,101,” says Ray Deck, assistant chair of the Public Service Commission for Saskatchewan. “It is hard to compare based solely on salary and not consider other benefits employees may receive from their employer, such as company vehicle, vacation days.”

About 36 per cent of the 1,853 SIA members responded; 590 were employed full time, 72 part time and 94 were self-employed (either full time or part time) so the numbers are statistically valid.

Of the respondents only about eight per cent identified themselves as an international graduate, member of a visible minority, indigenous person or a person with a disability. Those who did earned a below-average salary of $79,389. But of course that doesn’t take into consideration the type of work, age, experience or gender.

More women agrologists

Notably this survey reflects a jump in gender diversity, with about 54.5 per cent of respondents being male and 45.5 per cent female. About 90 per cent of new agrologist applicants in the province are from the College of Agriculture and Bioresources at the University of Sask­atchewan.

Of the 233 graduates in spring 2017, 41 per cent were male, with 59 per cent female. “For several years now, we have had more female than male students,” says Fran Walley, the college’s associate dean.

As of the end of last year about 40 per cent of all agrologists employed by the province, which is the biggest employer of agrologists in Saskatchewan, were female. “While data is not available, we would agree anecdotally with the SIA that many of our new agrologists are women — especially in the rural regions,” says Deck.

Gender pay gap

On average, the surveyed men reported higher earnings than women, but male agrologists reported more years of experience than females on an aggregate level. Not surprisingly, more years of experience and the number of staff being supervised correlated to higher earnings. Furthermore, this average gender salary gap is similar to what’s happening with other professionals, such as with reports from the professional engineers of Saskatchewan and the annual reports on certified professional accountants.

This mirrors a general national disparity: Canadian women earn 31 per cent less than men on an annual basis and on average about 12 per cent less in the hourly wage paid for full-time work. In its 2018 budget the Government of Canada stated it was going to lead by example and that this fall it will put into place a proactive pay equity regime for businesses and organizations operating within the federally regulated sector.

Currently, SIA is doing more data mining to determine if the gender wage gap is wider or narrower in different employment sectors, such as private versus public.

A significant gender pay gap between new entrants is troubling. In fact, there was about $13,600 difference between agrologists with less than a year’s experience and about $20,000 between the genders with one to four years experience.

One of the reasons often cited for this is the potential costs of maternity leave. In agriculture, it can be especially challenging to find temporary, qualified staff in very rural areas, and our industry has generally had a slow cultural acceptance of paternity leave.

Industry and government sources, however, are convinced that much more is at play.

“It’s definitely a complicated and multifaceted discussion without any simple solutions or guaranteed approaches,” says Trish Jordan, director of public and industry affairs with Monsanto Canada. “I know that we (Monsanto) have focused a lot on inclusion and diversity (of thought, experience, age, gender, etc.) in the past several years and have had a specific focus on tackling any impediments that may be impeding women’s advancement.”

Jordan says at Monsanto they try to counter any potential unconscious biases by having diverse hiring panels and by seeking diversity in applicants to be interviewed. “If we were hiring two agronomists fresh out of school and one happened to be a male and the other a female, they would be paid similar regardless of gender, unless one of the candidates had an undergrad degree and one had a master’s degree. In that case the master’s student (who has a bit more academic or likely field research experience) could be paid more.”

If over the course of their careers one of these two agronomists performed better or had gained more experience (by taking extra courses or tackling and completing a difficult project), their salaries may start to diverge slightly, Jordan says. “If you are a top performer and have significant years of experience you are naturally going to be paid at a higher end of a pay grade/scale than the mid to lower.”

Similarly the Government of Sask­atchewan has processes in place to ensure pay equality for all employees and a classification plan built following pay equity principles. The starting salary of any in-scope position in government is outlined in the collective bargaining agreement — it does not take gender into account, says Deck.

“If a new employee wishes to negotiate a starting salary higher than what is in the CBA, there is a process through the Public Service Commission, with the final approval being authorized by the chair of the Public Service Commission,” Deck adds. “This is to help ensure that the candidate has the experience that deserves a higher starting rate, and to ensure that increase is not provided for any other reason.”

But it raises a big question. If the agronomists hired by the province should have less or no gender gap, how much bigger does the spread in the private industry have to be to account for the survey results?

There may be another conflating factor too. Research into gender pay gaps has found males tend to ask for salary increases more than females. They may overvalue their expertise or performance whereas women tend to underplay their achievements.

“Based on the research, we have found women are more likely to let their performance and results speak for themselves,” says Jordan. “They tend to work hard and put their heads down and deliver and think someone will notice or someone will come and tell me that I am doing great and should get a raise or the next promotion. Males who may (or may not) achieve something and think they should get a raise.”

“We have also found that when women have males who advocate for them and their advancement, they do better and move up or get that next promotion or that pay raise,” she says.

IA is planning to do an agrologist salary survey every two years, with the next in the fall of 2019. The full survey can be found at www.sia.sk.ca/html/about/agrologist-salary-survey.

Agrologist vs. agronomist

“Agrologist” and “agronomist” are not interchangeable. Instead, agronomy is a sub-category of agrology.

Agronomists study elements of crop and soil science and apply scientific knowledge specifically to crop production and soil management. Those working within the specialty of agronomy and having a job title of “agronomist,” belong to the profession of agrology.

In Canada, over 10,000 agrologists practise in many areas of agriculture and through the food supply chain from research and teaching to providing advice to farmers. All 10 provincial institutes follow the same licensing criteria developed by Agrology Canada, and each province regulates this based on its own legislation. This means the practice of agrology is regulated as a profession, in the same manner as accountants, doctors, engineers and lawyers. Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta also have a technical agrologist (TechAg) designation for those with a two-year diploma from a faculty of agriculture and food.

The post Are agrologist salaries on the money? appeared first on Country Guide.

Which means women.

Women are Canada’s largest under-utilized pool of potential farm employees. The numbers prove it. Women make up only 36 per cent of the employees in primary agriculture — and an even smaller proportion once you get outside traditionally female roles like bookkeeping, marketing, human resources, and some livestock jobs.

So, being open to hiring women might help ease the labour shortage on your farm. But would women want to work on your farm?

When there is a labour shortage, farmers need to differentiate their farms from other farms, says Dr. Sara Mann, associate professor of strategic human resource management at the University of Guelph. They need to ask what could make their farm more attractive to potential employees, and to think hard about concrete steps they can take to achieve that differentiation.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be monetary,” says Mann. “It could be working hours, working conditions, or the farm’s culture.”

While many argue that good HR policies will attract both sexes, Michelle Painchaud, a Winnipeg-based executive coach and HR consultant who specializes in agriculture, insists farmers would be wise to specifically ensure their policies and culture meet the needs of potential female employees.

“A good first place to start would be to create a culture that is inclusive of women taking non-traditional roles, a culture that embraces change,” asserts Painchaud.

Terry Betker, president of Backswath Management in Winnipeg, agrees. “Ask yourself what kind of place would make people feel safe, and put policies in place to create a respectful workplace for everyone. You have to walk the talk.”

According to Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council’s (CAHRC) online Agri HR ToolKit, some of the offensive behaviours to watch out for include:

• Unwelcome physical, visual, or verbal behaviour.
• Verbal or practical jokes, insults, threats, personal comments.
• Touching, pushing, or any unwelcome physical contact.
• Sexual acts, comments, or propositions.
• Displaying offensive posters, pictures, or other materials in the workplace.
• Offensive attitudes, such as leering.
• Bullying or intimidating behaviour.

In addition to quashing these unacceptable behaviours, Betker recommends managers look around the shared common areas that employees use. Do you provide a lunch area? What kind of statement does it make? Are any pictures on the walls appropriate for everyone? Are the fridge and bathrooms clean?

The need for reducing sexism in agriculture is supported by the results of a 2015 online survey, Gender Roles and Equality in Agribusiness, conducted by AgCareers.com. Half of the women surveyed said they had experienced blunt sexism or discrimination in the workplace based on their gender.

There are several HR components that should be put in place to help ensure your farm is welcoming and inclusive. First, develop an employee manual that speaks specifically to a respectful workplace. This will make it easier to eliminate unacceptable behaviour, says Painchaud.

Also train family members and staff on the relevant clauses in employee contracts, and Painchaud recommends making sure everyone knows that disciplinary steps may be necessary for staff members who are disrespectful to other staff.

Since many women still shoulder the majority of domestic duties including childcare and elder care, policies that help female staff members create work-life balance are also helpful, Painchaud adds.

As well, clauses around offerings for maternity leave and flexible hours should be written into employment contracts. The desire by women for flexible hours and maternity leave, by the way, is also endorsed by both the 2016 CAHRC Supporting the Advancement of Women in Agriculture (SAWA) Needs Assessment and the AgCareers.com report on gender roles and equality.

It starts at the top

Creating an inclusive culture starts at the top, says Cathy Mak, vice-president of HR and compliance at Lakeside Produce, headquartered in Leamington, Ont.

“If you don’t have a supportive leader to integrate an inclusive culture, it’s not going to get very far,” says Mak. She says Lakeside Produce owner Chris Cervini, who has been hiring more women in a greenhouse sector that was predominantly male, simply does not tolerate inappropriate behaviour.

Cervini recently hired their first female greenhouse manager, and he hopes she will be able to advocate for other women and serve as a mentor.

Lakeshore employees are given some flexibility in their hours if they need to take care of childcare or other domestic responsibilities, and female employees are offered leadership development courses through the American Produce Marketing Association, which has specific streams for women.

Cervini emphasizes leadership development at all levels of the talent pool, says Mak, and women may be offered scholarships, mentorships or training to help them acquire new skills, including mechanics.

The opportunity to learn about machinery at a young age made the difference for Marg Rempel who has operated a grain and hog farm near Steinbach, Man., for 40 years. She got her first exposure to operating and maintaining equipment growing up on the farm, she says. “I learned how to do basic maintenance such as changing tires and cleaning an air filter. My father, who was a licensed mechanic, didn’t discourage me from sticking my nose in while he rebuilt a motor either.”

Later, when she had three young children, Rempel took a college course in large equipment operation and maintenance, and she says this course expanded her knowledge of good maintenance and operation practices.

Employers may also see a payback for offering opportunities for female employees to network wth each other and to be mentored.

When a farm has created an inclusive collaborative culture and flexible hours, these should be highlighted in a written Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to help recruit more women, says Painchaud. The EVP describes the mix of benefits and the appeal of working for an organization.

The EVP can then guide how you advertise and attract employees, and how you portray the farm during any interviews.

It should be fact-based, and can even include a quote or two from women working on their farm who can say they experienced a culture of collaboration and teams regardless of age or gender.

It’s not “one size fits all,” and it can appeal specifically to different groups of potential employees, Painchaud says. “The EVP should state that you embrace a diverse workforce, that you endeavour to help women grow their careers in the ag industry.”

Resources

• Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) Agri HR ToolKit walks farm businesses through the steps necessary for ensuring an inclusive environment.
• Ceres Rising: How Women are Leading Farm Business by Jeanne Bernick and Michelle Painchaud.

The post A better workplace for women appeared first on Country Guide.