This week sees the centenary celebrations of women winning the right to vote in this country, although it was actually 1928 before all women were granted completely equal voting rights with men.
I watched coverage of the celebrations of the centenary and thought it telling when the question was asked: “What would Emmeline Pankhurst make of where we are today with equality?” The answer? “There’s still lots to do.”
This was made clear on my Facebook page recently when I shared a link to the Bill in the Scottish Parliament which said all public boards must have 50-50 gender equality by 2022.
There were a few surprising comments in the conversation thread it ignited which clearly showed that some men are feeling under attack right now.
This is understandable when there has been so much coverage in the news of sexual harassment, sexual discrimination in the workplace and the gender pay gap.
In agriculture there is also still lots to do. The women in agriculture taskforce is working very hard to make sure that we can all have a stronger and more representative industry which more accurately reflects the diverse mix of folk involved.
My fellow taskforce member and arable farmer Anne Rae Macdonald and myself went along to our NFU Highland area annual meeting last month.We were very warmly welcomed and our short presentation on the work of the task force received positive
feedback and went some way to reassure our audience that we are not on a men-bashing crusade.
By casting an eye out over the audience at the well-attended meeting, the challenge for us all was obvious. Apart from Anne and I, there were just another two ladies.
We were asked how to get more women to attend and get involved, and I think a good place to start is for men to simply ask their partner or wife if they would like to come along.
Meetings need to be relevant and positive so that on the road home you feel inspired and energised with fresh ideas.
The frustration felt by some ladies in our industry was very clear going by the comments which went up on to my Facebook post regarding gender
equality on boards.
Some said they felt patronised when, after finding the courage to say what you think, you are thanked for your contribution as the discussion moves on. If you are persistent you get labelled as a troublemaker by the establishment.
Don’t get me wrong. There are lots of good examples out there of positive participation in the industry, but I can also identify first hand with many of these experiences.
As a woman, all I can say is – trust us. Don’t be afraid and embrace the changes that are clearly coming down the track.
We need to use all the available resources we have as an industry going forward into Brexit, so why leave half your team on the bench?