b'Women Breaking New Ground and Building Inclusivity in the Seed IndustryRealizing the industrys need for more diversity in leadership.Aimee NielsonJASON SPARKS,Syngentas global head of communi-cations for vegetables and flowers, recently celebrated International Womens Day for Women and Girls in Science with his two young daughters. He was surprised that his five-year-old had to ask if girls could be scientists. I was showing my daughters some great video content we had as a company, he said. It showed some of our female scientists. My daughter looked up at me and said girls can be scientists? Its heartbreaking as a father to think your daughter is already placing limits on her abilities in the world. Earlier this year, Sparks joined Payton Englert, American Seed Trade Associations director of government affairs, and a host of other seed industry leaders to organize a panel discussion about women in seed, held during the ASTA 2024 Vegetable and Flower Conference in Monterey. Afterward they reflected and talked about the motivations for the panel and the issue ofJason Sparks Payton Englertwomen and other underrepresented groups in the seed industry.The presence of women in the seed industry is becoming increasingly noticeable and impactful. Englert, a passionate advo-cate for female leadership in agriculture, shared her insights on the remarkable progress women have made in this traditionally male-dominated field."A decade ago, the term \'seedsman\' was all you would hear, Englert said. Now, we have women creating and leading seed companies, occupying positions that were unimaginable just 10 years ago.This shift Englert described is evident in organizations like ASTA, where women make up the majority of the staff, leading in important areas such as science, regulatory issues and govern-ment affairs.Englert believes the key to increasing women\'s leadership in the seed industry lies in continuing the conversations and main-taining the momentum that has been built. "One of our highest-attended sessions at every conference is always the Women in Seed session. That says a lot about our industry\'s willingness to grow in this space," she said.Reflecting on her own career path, Englert shared that her journey in agriculture began on her family\'s farm in northern Missouri. Despite the traditional roles often associated with farming, she said her family empowered her to have a seat at the table. Transitioning from politics to ASTA, Englert said she 36/ SEEDWORLD.COMJUNE 2024'