Bec Middleton manages a 550-cow dairy farm in South Australia. Source: SBS
"I am the farmer. I'm the manager here. My partner is the farmhand – and he will very hurriedly attest to that. Sometimes that's a little challenging for some people to accept," says Bec Middleton.
"Contractors, banks and so forth, they don't take women seriously, so half the voices on the farm are not being heard.
"There are a lot of women on farms, but… I've been in the industry now for 13 years and I could count the number of female managers I've met on one hand.
"I've had questions very recently of people asking me if I know how to drive a tractor or roll a cow."
IN AUSTRALIA, WOMEN WERE NOT LEGALLY RECOGNISED AS FARMERS UNTIL 1994.
Source: SBS
Women generate 49% of on-farm income in Australia but occupy only 13% of leadership roles within the industry.
"When I was elected, there were some eyebrows raised.' Source: SBS
Fiona Simpson is spearheading the Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program. It's the first program in Australia pairing future leaders with people who are already making a difference in their field.
"There is still a fairly blokey culture in most of the Agribusiness boardrooms and representative boardrooms across Australia," admits Simpson. "It's going to take a determined effort over a number of years at a number of levels to actually change that culture.
"Quotas might be something we'll want to embrace in the future but at the moment we're not ready for those. We want to be inclusive. We don't want to be divisive. And quotas are going to be very divisive. You can't have that sort of change without involving men and you certainly can't have that cultural change without some men champions."
