Seed World PRO Advisor Erika Osmundson is the Director of Marketing and Communications at AgCareers.com. AgCareers.com works with agricultural professionals and companies through the United States and Canada. Recently they undertook a market research project regarding gender equality in the agriculture industry. The role of women in agriculture is a topic that Seed World PRO has covered on our podcast before. This time we dive into the data.
This is an update of the 2015 Gender Roles & Equality in Agribusiness study, using data from 2019 before the pandemic struck. The full 2020 Gender Roles & Equality in Agribusiness study can be found here. Attached are three sections from the full report: Equality and advancement, Benefits and compensation, and Representation. These data reflect experiences across agriculture. The seed industry supports many types of agriculture and is diverse in location, sub-industry, and skills required.
- Of the respondents, an equal number of men and women had doctoral and master’s degrees. Women had more bachelor’s degrees than men, while more men had high school diplomas and certificates. He women also reported wanting to advance to a higher-level position in the future, more often than men.
- The three most common barriers for women were: doubt in ability, knowledge, and/or skills; being taken seriously; and lack of support and/or validation from leadership.
- Health insurance is the most valued benefit for both genders.
- 90% or greater of both genders felt that the attitude toward women working in agribusiness has changed for the better.
Read the report here & Listen to the Woman in Ag episode of the Seed World PRO podcast here.
