Celebrating Women in Farming

March is International Women's Month, and here at WFCF we're proud to celebrate all of our women on staff, each doing their own part to increase access to fresh vegetables, educate about food and farming, and promote sustainable land management.  We have three amazing women farmers - Amanda, Erinn, and Zannah - each taking leadership roles in our own organization as well as within the region, but what about beyond our borders? In this post we take a look at the state of women and farming in today's world.

• In the United States, women are taking more active roles in running and managing farms, but still face the challenge of being viewed not as farmers, but farmers' wives. Breaking the 'Grass Ceiling': More Women are Farming

• Other challenges that many women face including difficulty in cracking the "good old boy" network in their areas, coming to farming as a second career, and the inability to follow business to new locations as many industries can do. Census Shows Fewer Women Running Farms, Ranches  

• In other parts of the world, the hurdles for women are different. In Africa, women make up nearly half of the farming workforce but do not enjoy equal access to productivity resources and tools compared to their male counterparts. Gender Gap Holds Back Africa's Women Farmers

• This interactive infographic from Farming First goes deep into the importance of women in agriculture and the need to close the gender gap in farming around the world. The Female Face of Farming

Do you know any women who are influential in the world of agriculture? What kind of contributions are they making? Tell us in the comments!

 

Check out this video, featuring Amanda and Waltham Fields!