Did you do something to recognise International Women’s Day yesterday (Wednesday 8 March)?

Perhaps the first thing most people in Irish farming can do is to recognise that the sector is still dominated by men.

Do we have equal opportunity? No. We don’t. The fact a woman became the CEO of Glanbia plc/co-op was a sign of progress.

But it was a case of the exception proving that there has been change, but not enough.

As CEO of Glanbia Co-op, before the demerger that led to Tirlán, Siobhán Talbot would have looked around the co-op boardroom at 14 elected men. The council, almost 100 strong, is barely better. The 88-strong Tirlán council had one woman member the last time I checked. And the same is true of co-ops across the country; they are effectively male enclaves.

Female leaders

The agri-sector has seen many women assume positions of leadership, from Anna May McHugh (NPA) to Tara McCarthy (Bord Bia) to Fiona Muldoon (FBD).

But while the barriers to any individual woman progressing have been at least lowered, there are still cultural and societal norms in place that are holding women back.

The concept of positive discrimination is not universally popular, but it does undoubtedly help to promote minorities into positions of responsibility, with the hope being that those pioneers can then encourage others to follow their example.

It isn’t linear progression, though. We saw seven women county chairs in IFA at one point, perhaps encouraged by the requirement that one of a branch’s four voting delegates had to be a woman.

That has dwindled – with Kathleen Henry and Bernie McCarthy stepping down this month, all 29 IFA county chairs are once again men.

Of course, women can only explore the possibilities opened by greater equality in the workplace or in public life if there is some form of equality in home life. Women are still expected to be primary carers for children, for elderly parents and for family members with special care requirements.

Burden

And the burden of the bulk of housework still falls on women too. All that, plus a job on or off the farm, and then we wonder why women are not emerging in droves to seek and gain representative roles in farm and agri-organisations? It isn’t doable.

So, if you as a man want equality, hang out the washing and empty the dishwasher. And if you’re a woman, don’t thank a man for doing such things. It’s his job as much as yours. Every day, and every day.