Women in horticulture want a fair go, not a leg up

Women make up around 40 per cent of New Zealand’s horticulture workforce, but new research suggests many are still working harder than their male counterparts to be heard, recognised and given the same opportunities.

And while women want change, they are not necessarily asking for special treatment.

Independent research commissioned by Women in Horticulture found 80 per cent of women had experienced discrimination during their careers because of their gender, compared with 28 per cent of men.

Women in Horticulture project manager Stephanie Wrathall said the figure was significant, but the response women wanted was more nuanced than simply creating women-only initiatives.

“I know that 80 per cent experiencing discrimination looks like a big number, and obviously it is,” Wrathall said.

“But I think within that we’ve got to be aware that how women want this dealt with is mostly very cautious.

“They don’t want to stick their heads above the parapet. They want to get the job done, and get the job done well.”

The research, undertaken by independent research agency Scarlatti, drew on 244 survey responses and 34 in-depth interviews with women and men across the horticulture sector.

Women described having to arrive over-prepared to be taken seriously, seeing their ideas overlooked until repeated by male colleagues, being excluded from using machinery or equipment they were capable of operating, and facing comments about their appearance, capability or pregnancy.

Wrathall said many women were not asking for additional advantages.

“Some simply want the barriers removed. They’re not asking for anything extra, they just don’t want to have to work harder to get to the same place.”

The research also identified differences in the career pathways of women and men.

Women were also considerably more likely to take career breaks, with 64 per cent having done so compared with 41 per cent of men, particularly for parenting.

The research suggests those breaks can have a significant effect on career progression. Nearly three-quarters of women said personal commitments affected their careers, with caregiving responsibilities emerging as the biggest personal commitment barrier for women.

The report highlighted the importance of supporting women before, during and after parenting, including keeping people connected to their workplaces during career breaks and providing flexible pathways back into work.

Career breaks can  flow on to challenges in women taking up leadership positions.

Just 9 per cent of women surveyed had served on boards, compared with 41 per cent of men, despite 32 per cent of women saying they wanted to move into governance roles.

Women were also less likely to have received leadership or management training once in the workforce, with 54 per cent of women reporting they had received this training compared with 67 per cent of men.

Gender itself was identified as a barrier to career development by 39 per cent of women compared with just 3 per cent of men, with women commonly reporting their contribution was not valued as highly as that of male colleagues.

One of the starkest findings was the gap between women’s experiences and how those experiences were perceived by others.

Fifteen of the 20 women interviewed had personally experienced gender-related challenges. Yet eight of the 13 men who answered the question said they did not see women facing particular challenges within horticulture.

The research suggested some gender-related issues were linked to traditional attitudes, with interviewees commonly identifying older generations as one source of the challenges women experienced.

However, the report cautioned against assuming generational change alone would solve the problem, noting younger people could also hold gender biases and that more inclusive workplace cultures and greater awareness were needed across the industry.

Despite the barriers, women remain strongly committed to horticulture.

Sixty-nine per cent of women surveyed said they intended to stay in the industry, while a further 30 per cent were unsure and just 1 per cent said they planned to leave.

Wrathall said that was an important part of the story.

“They like being in horticulture. I think that’s the positive sign. Even though there’s that big number around discrimination, there’s still about 70 per cent that want to stay in horticulture.”

The research also challenged assumptions about what supporting women should look like.

Of the women interviewed about targeted support, some saw value in initiatives such as mentoring and improving the visibility of opportunities, while others worried women-only programmes could reinforce perceptions that women needed extra help to succeed or had progressed because of their gender rather than merit.

Instead, the most commonly requested support was greater visibility of development and career progression opportunities, identified by 52 per cent of women.

Networking opportunities were also wanted by 52 per cent, followed by mentoring at 51 per cent, training opportunities at 48 per cent and encouragement from leaders at 46 per cent.

The report concluded there was no single experience of being a woman in horticulture, identifying four broad journeys ranging from women who had experienced discrimination and benefited from support to those who had not experienced gender-related barriers and did not believe targeted support was necessary.

For Wrathall, that reinforces the need to avoid a one-size-fits-all response.

“When they’re looking at things like moving into leadership, it’s really about career progression and clear communication about what that pathway could be.”

The challenge for horticulture, the research suggests, is not convincing women they belong in the industry.

It is ensuring they have the same opportunity to progress once they are there.

Women and others working across the horticulture sector can join Women in Horticulture by completing the membership form on the Women in Horticulture section of the United Fresh website.