Veronica Braker has spent nearly her entire 27-year career in industries and roles traditionally dominated by men — manufacturing, engineering, plant management and agriculture — all while raising five children.
“I can’t tell you how many people have said to me ‘You must not have any kids,’” said Braker, who is the senior vice-president of global operations for Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM). “I’ve had people tell me that women shouldn’t be in a plant, that they wouldn’t let their wife or daughter work there. The women I know are very focused and driven. People can try to make you uncomfortable, but they can’t unless you allow it.”
Being confident, working hard and doing the job she was hired to do have gone a long way in Braker’s career, which has included management and senior level leadership positions with GE, BASF and Flint Hills Resources. She made the move to the agriculture industry when she joined ADM in March 2019.
But it’s not always been easy finding that work-life balance and breaking into fields, like agriculture, where women are the minority.
Having a diverse workplace is better for companies’ financial performance, studies have shown. Men and women have different viewpoints, opinions and insights, making for better problem solving, according to the Gallup study, “The Business Benefits of Gender Diversity.”
It’s a fact being recognized by major agribusinesses as well as smaller grain companies, feed mills, flour mills, agriculture associations, universities and governments across the globe, and they want to do something to close the gender gap within the industry. In a time when the workforce is rapidly aging and retiring, it doesn’t make sense to exclude 50% of the population from the job candidate pool.
“If we do not have more women contributing, then we are simply missing out,” said Randy Garvert, senior director of operations at Ardent Mills and vice-president of the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM). “The industry needs new ideas to push boundaries and those new ideas come from people. People who have different backgrounds, upbringing, schooling and areas of expertise all bring new and exciting perspectives.”
Key factors contributing to the gender gap include unequal pay, a lack of mentors and the lack of a strong personal network, according to a Women in Food and Agriculture survey conducted by Alltech and AgriBriefing. More than 2,500 respondents from across the supply chain and around the world participated in the survey.
Anecdotally, women in the agribusiness industry say some of the barriers include lack of knowledge about the opportunities available, the perception that these types of careers don’t mesh with having a family, and the feeling that they don’t belong.
Companies hope to find answers with a multitude of initiatives aimed at attracting and retaining a diverse workforce. Some examples include Together We Grow, a consortium of large agribusiness players committed to improving and expanding diversity in agribusiness, and Women of Wheat, an employee resource group at Ardent Mills that fosters a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Agriculture associations are addressing the topic, including the IAOM, which had a special meeting on the topic at its 2019 annual meeting, and the National Grain and Feed Association, which had a session on boosting business through diversity and inclusion at its Country Elevator Conference and Trade Show in December.
In addition, groups like Women in Agribusiness are giving women a platform to meet and discuss relevant agriculture topics at summits and informal meetups.
A key component of many of these programs, and a need expressed by many women in the agribusiness industry, is providing role models or mentorships. Learning from people like Braker, who have “been there, done that,” can make a huge difference in women choosing to enter a male-dominated field and having success.
“Build a network, both male and female,” Braker said. “Have a mentor and be a mentor because a lot of people have been there. Sometimes you just feel more comfortable with people who have had similar experiences.”
Gender gap
In 2018, women’s global labor force participation rate was 48.5%, down from 51.4% in 1990, according to Catalyst, a nonprofit organization that works with companies to create workplaces that work for women. Men’s labor force participation rate also dropped in the same time period, from 80% to 75%.
While women account for 40% of the labor force in many countries, the level of participation varies widely. For example, in Australia, women’s labor force participation reached 60.5% in 2018 while in India participation is just 27.2%.
On average, women are still less likely to participate in the labor market than men, according to the study “World Employment Social Outlook: Trends for Women 2018” by the International Labor Organization (ILO). While the gap narrowed by 2 percentage points, the rate of improvement has slowed since 2009 and is expected to stop between 2018-21, or even reverse.
Within developed, developing and emerging countries, there are significant differences in access to the labor market for women. The gap in participation rates between men and women in developing and developed countries is narrowing but it continues to widen in emerging countries, the ILO said.
Gender gaps are particularly wide in Arab states, northern Africa and southern Asia, the ILO said. Restrictive gender and cultural norms mean women in these countries are more constrained in their options for paid employment.
Developing countries have the lowest gender gap at 11.8 percentage points in 2018. This likely reflects the economic necessity for women to seek employment. Women in these countries also are often defined as members of the informal economy, and are outside the scope of labor legislation, social security regulations and collective bargaining agreements, the ILO said.
Although there has been progress, women are scarce among senior leaders, Catalyst said. As of the 2018 Fortune list, only 24 women were chief executive officers of Fortune 500 companies. Globally, women account for less than a quarter of senior roles.
There was a vast difference in workplace perceptions among the female and male respondents in the Alltech survey. Half of the female respondents agreed that women are well represented in the leadership of their organizations while 65% of men agreed.
In terms of overall female representation in the agri-food industry, 43% of women agreed women are well represented and 59% of men agreed.
When it comese to wages, 41% of men strongly agreed women are fairly compensated compared to 22% of women who strongly agreed.
Respondents in Asia were most likely to report women were well-represented in leadership (83%), followed by Europe (67%), Africa (66%) and the Americas (65%). Only half of those in Oceania agreed.
The differences in access to decent work opportunities between men and women is a major obstacle to creating an equitable and inclusive labor market, the ILO said. Significant effort is needed by governments, employers and trade unions to bridge the gap in the labor market, as well as initiatives to address the unequal household and care responsibilities that women face. This includes fostering the transition from informal to formal jobs for women; continuing to encourage female enrollment in formal education and vocational training; improving public policies to expand coverage of child-related services; and promoting redistribution of family responsibilities.
“Reducing gender gaps in the labor market therefore requires comprehensive measures, tailored specifically to women (in recognition of their widely varying circumstances), which will ultimately contribute to the welfare of society,” the ILO said.
The Alltech survey showed that, for the most part, the agriculture industry is making great progress in closing the gender gap and employees are feeling positive about the future. Fifty-eight percent of all respondents feel that women are well-represented in the industry overall, 79% agree that their organization is becoming more inclusive and 80% said the industry overall is becoming more inclusive.
In the recent past there have been several examples of women ascending to leadership roles in the private and public sector: Patricia Woertz, who was CEO of ADM from 2006-14; Marie-Claude Bibeau in March 2019 became the first woman in Canadian history to be appointed federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food; and in October 2019, Constance Cullman was named the president and CEO of the American Feed Industry Association.
“I started my career in the 1990s and I can tell you from firsthand experience that the number of times that I have gone into a meeting and been the only woman has dropped dramatically,” said Cullman, who’s involvement in the agriculture industry has included time as an extension associate, an administrator with the Foreign Agricultural Service, government affairs leader for Dow AgroScience and CEO of the Farm Foundation. “It’s so exciting to see the talent of women in our industry being recognized with prominent roles in agriculture.”
In Colombia, Claudia Maria Diaz Chaustre has seen the role of women in milling grow. When she first started in the industry, women had access to positions in the quality area of mills. Now, because of the implementation of standards and certifications, more women are involved in the milling process. Diaz Chaustre worked her way up from laboratory assistant to plant director for Molinos Santa Marta’s mills in Buga and Santa Marta.
“Current technology is making it easy for the milling industry to open its doors and welcome women,” Diaz Chaustre said. “Through media, we can visualize new trends, careers, processes and we are able to see the female leadership growing, which is an objective in many countries.”
Still, more work needs to be done to have women involved in all aspects of milling.
“That is the big challenge for women, to have access to other areas in the whole manufacturing process,” she said. “Women are prepared to rotate shifts and work in teams with attention to detail.”
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