Women in Agriculture Do They Belong?

In todays society, no matter what part of the globe you are from, everyone is affected by agriculture, from the food they consume to the cloths they wear, no matter what part of the globe you are from. This means that every year someone has to provide these agricultural products to consumers, and with as many people as there are on the planet it must be a large-scale operation. Due to growing population the need for agricultural production is growing at an exponential rate, and there is no sign of it slowing down any time soon. With a closer look at agriculture as a whole a question has arose, that question being whether or not women belong being involved in the agricultural process. There are three distinct articles that will be discussed in this review. Each article was chosen because they contain information on women in agriculture in some way. Each article focuses on a different but specific aspect of the topic, found from previous research. Researches and the average person have discussed the question about whether or not women belong in agriculture or if it is something that should be left to men (Duffield, 1996). This came about as the population grew and shortages were being noticed more and more therefore studies and surveys have been done to find answers (Duffield, 1996). These studies have uncovered astonishing finding about women in agriculture including their positions, the struggles they go through, and the questioning of a gender bias (Duffield, 1996). Researchers have used many different methods, from surveys to interviews looking at many different aspects of these agricultural women. Agricultural specialists have taken into account the kinds of work these women have been doing and

narrowed them down to three specific areas. These areas include fieldwork, technical work, and finally professional work (Duffield, 1996). In the studies that have been conducted, results show that there is in fact a gender bias and that women have different hard ships than men that they have to overcome (Duffield, 1996). With all the research that has been done it has room for improvement. The present research ties to clarify if women belong in agriculture and if there is a bias against them. The articles selected for this review have common themes such as, gender bias, womens struggles, and under appreciation in agricultural fields. The first article to appear in my research was conducted in Australia. This article provides information from a survey that was constructed on women in agriculture. The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) was the primary source of the participants. The data was collected through a survey given the 137 women working in the field of agriculture for the DPI. Surveys were collected and ran through a computer program to compile the data in order for it to be analyzed. Researchers tried to determine if there was a gender bias by analyzing the data they collected. The results indicate that none of the women who were included in the survey were in managerial positions and all of them had a male supervisor. The author concludes that there is in fact a gender bias and that women have many different difficulties, such as juggling families, their ages, and having to deal with sexual harassment (Duffield, 1996). A Sarah T. Rickson writes the second article that will appear in my research, she asks the very important question Women in agriculture, are they still invisible? (Rickson, 1997). This article furthers the research stated above about what the women, who were interviewed, actually do in their agricultural field. The author also states the

difficulties that women go through in their specific fields. These difficulties are extremely similar to those of the first article, family, age, sexual harassment, and not being trusted in a higher position (Rickson, 1997). Women play a criticle role in all farm-related activities from land preparation to marketing (Satyavathi, NA). The final article to make an appearance will be from a gender, technology and development journal, written by a team of authors (Satyavathi, C. T., Ch. Bharadwaj, and P. S. Brahmanand). This article is about improving womens skills so that they can be more proactive in an agriculture stance. The article gives many examples of women in different cultures and how they run the agriculture. The article tells about the success of the women in the agriculture community before and after the teachings. The author gives plenty of reasons why being in agriculture is more difficult for women than it is for men, relating back to the previous articles. Women generally have more obligations than men do making their jobs much more time consuming (Satyavathi, NA). The results of the studies suggest that women do in fact belong in agriculture. They research also blatantly suggests that there is an evident gender bias that favors males over females. Women have many difficulties that they have to face that men are less likely to have as stated in all three articles. This paper is structured as follows, this literary review will be come the introduction, my own research and examples from the three peer reviewed journal articles will become the body and finally I will tie it all together in the conclusion. I plan to conduct my research with surveys and library research.

My research will help women all over the world to be more productive and less judged in their agricultural fields. As for the questions posed earlier, do women belong in agriculture, and is there a gender bias against women, according to the research I have already done I believe yes is the answer to both. Women belong in every aspect of agriculture because they provide good quality work and different ways of approaching problems. In the first presented article it was clear that a gender bias exists and cannot be disputed. A new question now arises, with this gender bias against women is it even worth the effort for them to try to branch out in the agricultural world?

Works Cited 1) Duffield, Beatrice. "Professional Women in Agriculture - Do They Have a Future?" Women in Management Review 11.4 (1996): 20-27. Purdue Libraries. Wed. 12 Mar. 2014 2) Rickson, Sarah T. "Outstanding in Their Field: Women in Agriculture." Current Sociology 45.91 (1997): 91-133. Purdue Libraries. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. 3) Satyavathi, C. T., Ch. Bharadwaj, and P. S. Brahmanand. "Role of Farm Women in Agriculture: Lessons Learned." Gender Technology and Development 441st ser. 14.3 (n.d.): 442-49. Purdue Libraries. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.