Kathleen O'Sullivan
Dec 5, 2020
AGRILAND, IRELAND
Work, relationships and social activities are all affected by where someone lives, and a recent academic article looks at the role that living in a rural area has on women in both Ireland and Sweden.
The latest NUI Galway Whitaker Institute Policy Brief looks at an article by Alison Herbert entitled ‘What Role Does Rural Place Play in the Lives of Mid-Life Women in Sweden and Ireland?’
The academic article discusses how ‘rural place’ is a “significant influencer of the ageing and states of well-being experienced by older women”.
The article draws on two independent studies of 25 rural mid-life women (45 to 65-year-olds) in Connemara, Co. Galway, and 10 in Värmland, Sweden, that were done in recent years. The paper examined the influence of “gendered rural place” on these mid-life women.
‘A Pathway To Rural Social Isolation’
The academic article states that the data shows a “compelling need for a greater consideration of the critical and diverse role rural place plays in shaping women’s experiences of ageing and well-being both at mid-life and in older age”.
One participant, who is a native to Connemara, “underscored how climate and weather can become negative features of rurality and, when combined with diminished public transport, form a pathway to rural social isolation”.
“I would say we’re very isolated politically. We feel it here, especially during the two bad winters, even the bus couldn’t run. Then you feel isolated,” the 48-year-old said.
‘If My Husband Dies Before Me, I Would Not Stay Here’
The article said that in a few cases of participants in Connemara, they “strongly wanted to leave their rural place but could not secure agreement from their partners”.
One woman had moved with her husband from Co. Dublin to Connemara with their children. The children have now grown up and left home, leaving her feeling “very little attachment” to the area.
“The stresses here are a lot less than living in an urban environment with the traffic,” the 61-year-old acknowledged.
“It’s the clean air – we might have other problems, but we respect the environment.
“We have limited rubbish collection, so we compost, it influences how we live our lives and those of our children too – we grow our own veg.
But, if my husband dies before me, I would not stay here – I’d move. We have no public transport at all here and if I could no longer drive, I’d be trapped.
The briefing by the Whitaker Institute on this article notes that the studies drew “on the social representation model in which rurality becomes the meanings attached to it: rural becomes defined through the senses and aesthetics; such as slower pace of life, greater sense of space, and an increased sense of intimacy”.
“The Sweden study shows a marked appreciation of the environment and its biotic and abiotic qualities, which helped to bond rural women to place.
“Most participants of both studies self-identified as ‘rural women’, whether native to their area or in-migrant.”
Women In Sweden Held ‘Stronger Affiliations’ To Their Rural Environment
The women in the Sweden study held “stronger affiliations” to their rural environment. They “more purposely incorporated their natural environments in order to enhance feelings of well-being”.
In contrast, participants from the Ireland study praised Connemara’s qualities, such as healthy clean air, but mostly fell short of utilising their environments actively.
“There are likely to be a number of reasons for this, including a perception of busier working lives and less discretionary time among the Ireland participants, but also perhaps from sociocultural norms, including Sweden’s ‘outdoor’ ethos in comparison to that of Ireland.
“Crucially, Sweden’s participants anticipated relatively high well-being in older age in comparison to Ireland’s, attributable in the main to state supports for housing and health.”
The brief concludes that policymakers should consider “what constitutes the components of a positive rural place identity if they wish to encourage rural repopulation”.
“Policy must also address the rural issues that may negate strong place identity and attachment, including perceptions of social isolation from critical networks; geographic loneliness; and social exclusion from mainstream socioeconomic services.”
International Day of Rural Women: ‘The role of women on farms isn’t even recognised by themselves’
Kathleen O'Sullivan
Oct 15, 2020
AGRILAND, IRELAND
“The role of women on farms isn’t recognised enough by anyone…not even by the women themselves.”
Today (Thursday, October 15) is International Day of Rural Women and, around the globe, the crucial role women play in agriculture and rural and community life is being celebrated.
While national statistics show very few women work in agriculture in Ireland, the work done by women on family farms “is a lot more” than is realised.
Women In Agriculture In Ireland
In the recently published Annual Review and Outlook 2020 of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, it shows that at a European scale, the number of women in farming has been slowly increasing.
According to the department’s client database, 16% of the registered farmers in 2019 were women (25,400). 55% (13,849) of female farm owners were over 60 in 2019 with 14% of these aged over 80.
The Central Statistics Office Labour Force Survey showed that in 2019, 13% of workers in the primary agriculture, forestry and fishing sector were female.
Teagasc Survey
Aisling Molloy, an advisor with Teagasc, undertook a study two years ago on women and their role in agriculture. She said that there was an “obvious lack of recognition of the work that women contribute to farms, particularly by themselves, as 64% of the women who classified themselves as ‘not working on a farm’ carried out at least one farm task”.
“85% of respondents carried out farm tasks, mainly farm accounts and/or form filling, department schemes and making decisions,” Molloy added.
Molloy told AgriLand: “The biggest thing is that the role of women on farms isn’t recognised enough by anybody…even by the women themselves.
Things that they didn’t recognise as important – like paperwork and going to the co-ops – when they don’t recognise that, they don’t recognise their own value.A
“At farm events, a lot of the time, the farmer is referred to as ‘he’, and that in itself is a huge issue because obviously women can be farmers too. A lot of the time, unless you refer to them as he and she, it’s sort of masking that straight away.
“Farm ownership and names on herd numbers are low; but the percentage of women working on farms is huge.”
Women Do More Unpaid Work And Are Still The Main Carer In The Family
Irish Rural Network, the national network which aims to represent the interests of rural communities, told AgriLand that women are at the heart of all communities, which was highlighted in particular during the recent Covid-19 restrictions.
“In general, women do more unpaid work and are still the main carer in the family – whether this is caring for their children or caring for elderly relatives or neighbours,” Louise Lennon of Irish Rural Link said.
“However, on family farms in rural areas, women also help out on farms – again, unpaid and unrecognised by the state.
While national statistics show very few women working in agriculture, the work done by women on family farms is a lot more.
Lennon also said that women living in rural areas “do not have the same employment opportunities available to them as women in urban areas”.
“More women than men in rural areas work in sectors that generally pay minimum wage, such as retail, caring roles and in the tourism and hospitality sector,” she continued.
“A study by the Western Development Commission using Census 2016 figures showed that women account for majority of those employed in the hospitality sector in the western region, reflecting the national picture.
“55.4% of those employed in the sector were females. It is often more difficult for women to commute long distance to access higher-paid employment – due to childcare or need to care for elderly relatives.
“This is even more difficult for one-parent families (which we know the majority are headed by females) living in rural areas.”
According to the network, women living in rural areas are also at more risk than women in urban areas of poverty as they get older. This is compounded by an ageing population, with more women than men living in the country.
Irish Rural Link leads a consortium made up of The Wheel, NUI Galway and Farrelly & Co to deliver the National Rural Network – which has been looking at the “pivotal role of women” in Irish agriculture through a recent video series.
Dr. Maura Farrell from the National Rural Network and NUI Galway said that these women are “highly innovative, resilient and dedicated to farming”.
“It sends a clear message of support for women interested or embarking on a career in agriculture and, in turn, a message to farm owners that women interested in farming are capable and worthy successors of the family farm,” Dr. Farrell added.
Kathleen O'Sullivan
Oct 15, 2020
AGRILAND, IRELAND
“The role of women on farms isn’t recognised enough by anyone…not even by the women themselves.”
Today (Thursday, October 15) is International Day of Rural Women and, around the globe, the crucial role women play in agriculture and rural and community life is being celebrated.
While national statistics show very few women work in agriculture in Ireland, the work done by women on family farms “is a lot more” than is realised.
Women In Agriculture In Ireland
In the recently published Annual Review and Outlook 2020 of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, it shows that at a European scale, the number of women in farming has been slowly increasing.
According to the department’s client database, 16% of the registered farmers in 2019 were women (25,400). 55% (13,849) of female farm owners were over 60 in 2019 with 14% of these aged over 80.
The Central Statistics Office Labour Force Survey showed that in 2019, 13% of workers in the primary agriculture, forestry and fishing sector were female.
Teagasc Survey
Aisling Molloy, an advisor with Teagasc, undertook a study two years ago on women and their role in agriculture. She said that there was an “obvious lack of recognition of the work that women contribute to farms, particularly by themselves, as 64% of the women who classified themselves as ‘not working on a farm’ carried out at least one farm task”.
“85% of respondents carried out farm tasks, mainly farm accounts and/or form filling, department schemes and making decisions,” Molloy added.
Molloy told AgriLand: “The biggest thing is that the role of women on farms isn’t recognised enough by anybody…even by the women themselves.
Things that they didn’t recognise as important – like paperwork and going to the co-ops – when they don’t recognise that, they don’t recognise their own value.A
“At farm events, a lot of the time, the farmer is referred to as ‘he’, and that in itself is a huge issue because obviously women can be farmers too. A lot of the time, unless you refer to them as he and she, it’s sort of masking that straight away.
“Farm ownership and names on herd numbers are low; but the percentage of women working on farms is huge.”
Women Do More Unpaid Work And Are Still The Main Carer In The Family
Irish Rural Network, the national network which aims to represent the interests of rural communities, told AgriLand that women are at the heart of all communities, which was highlighted in particular during the recent Covid-19 restrictions.
“In general, women do more unpaid work and are still the main carer in the family – whether this is caring for their children or caring for elderly relatives or neighbours,” Louise Lennon of Irish Rural Link said.
“However, on family farms in rural areas, women also help out on farms – again, unpaid and unrecognised by the state.
While national statistics show very few women working in agriculture, the work done by women on family farms is a lot more.
Lennon also said that women living in rural areas “do not have the same employment opportunities available to them as women in urban areas”.
“More women than men in rural areas work in sectors that generally pay minimum wage, such as retail, caring roles and in the tourism and hospitality sector,” she continued.
“A study by the Western Development Commission using Census 2016 figures showed that women account for majority of those employed in the hospitality sector in the western region, reflecting the national picture.
“55.4% of those employed in the sector were females. It is often more difficult for women to commute long distance to access higher-paid employment – due to childcare or need to care for elderly relatives.
“This is even more difficult for one-parent families (which we know the majority are headed by females) living in rural areas.”
According to the network, women living in rural areas are also at more risk than women in urban areas of poverty as they get older. This is compounded by an ageing population, with more women than men living in the country.
Irish Rural Link leads a consortium made up of The Wheel, NUI Galway and Farrelly & Co to deliver the National Rural Network – which has been looking at the “pivotal role of women” in Irish agriculture through a recent video series.
Dr. Maura Farrell from the National Rural Network and NUI Galway said that these women are “highly innovative, resilient and dedicated to farming”.
“It sends a clear message of support for women interested or embarking on a career in agriculture and, in turn, a message to farm owners that women interested in farming are capable and worthy successors of the family farm,” Dr. Farrell added.
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