Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2023
966. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what action his Department is taking to address the under-representation of women in the Irish agriculture sector, in particular at management level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48834/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra967. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what action is being taken by his Department to challenge and change cultural stereotypes and biases that may discourage women from pursuing agricultural careers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48835/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 966 and 967 together.
The Deputy may already be aware of the various supports and interventions currently being provided by my Department via the CAP and also, the "Highlighting pathways to Empower Rural women to have Sustainable & Equitable Livelihoods in Farming", (HER-SELF) research project.
Food Vision, our stakeholder strategy for the agri-food sector, recognises the importance of gender balance to the long-term sustainable future of the sector and includes actions to promote and improve gender balance at all levels, such as:
• Promote women’s participation in farming through Knowledge Transfer Groups.
• Capture and publish gender data on policy implementation.
• Represent the sector in the development of the new National Women and Girl’s Strategy
• Promote/improve gender balance in the sector, particularly senior management & board level.
• Promote & support women’s networks and mentoring programmes, eg. ACORNS and
• Host a National Dialogue on Women in Agriculture.
I hosted the National Dialogue on Women in Agriculture, on 1 February this year, St Brigid's Day. The event was chaired by former Tánaiste and Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan, and it examined gender issues in farming and the wider agri-food sector generally encompassing themes of Leadership and Visibility, Education and Awareness, Sustainability and Legal & Financial. The areas of cultural bias and under-representation was a strong thread throughout the event and opportunities to improve in these areas was discussed in depth via the panel discussions and workshop sessions.
Panellists representing CERES, the women in agri-business leadership network, and the the Agri-Food Diversity & Inclusion Forum (AgDIF) contributed to the discussion on increased inclusivity and diversity in the sector. The outcome of the Dialogue is currently being compiled into a report that will inform policy in this regard in the coming years. My Department will work with stakeholders to develop an action plan to progress these and other issues raised via the Dialogue.
I am committed to achieving better gender representation on state boards. I am delighted to see several appointments secured by highly qualified female candidates in 2023 and to report that we are well on track to achieve the 40% gender representation target set for the 12 state boards under my remit.
I look forward to continuing to work with the various stakeholders to progress these important issues.
