Australian Farm Women – Shut out or Fenced in? The Lack of Women in Agricultural Leadership

Abstract

This paper discusses the lack of women in leadership positions in Australian agriculture. Using a feminist framework, it examines the gendered nature of power and organizations and analyses the processes that operate to exclude women. The role of the state in supporting male dominance of agriculture is discussed, as is the role of Australian femocrats in seeking to overcome women’s disadvantage. The paper draws on the results of a 1997 survey of the chairs of 140 Australian boards associated with agriculture to demonstrate that those with the power to effect change are insensitive to the barriers women face when seeking leadership. Most choose to locate the reasons for women’s exclusion in real or imagined inadequacies of women ignoring gendered organizational structures and processes. The paper calls for action on the part of governments, industry leaders and women’s groups to address the lack of women in decision‐making positions in agriculture.

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