The government must address the barriers that contribute to the underrepresentation of women in farming, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.<\/p>\n
Deputy Whitmore, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on agriculture, was speaking ahead of an event celebrating Irish Women in Farming, which will be jointly hosted tomorrow (Tuesday, March 4) by the European Commission Representation in Ireland and the Department of Agriculture.<\/p>\n
Deputy Whitmore said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is fitting that we recognise the important role played by women in the agricultural sector as we mark International Women\u2019s Day 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, in doing so, we must also use the opportunity to highlight the obstacles that women often face in farming.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccess to land, which has been traditionally passed down to males by families, needs to be addressed. This could be done by implementing equal inheritance rights policies, as well as providing financial incentives to women to buy or lease land, including through low interest loans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also believe that women-led agriculture policy groups should be established to identify the main issues and look at possible solutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe figures highlight the scale of the challenge. Only 13 per cent of farm holders in Ireland are women, while women account for approximately 27 per cent of the total farm workforce.<\/p>\n
\u201cWork\/life balance considerations also feed into the underrepresentation of women in the sector. For this reason, the provision of childcare places for women working in farming should be examined by the government.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen play a crucial role in the sustainability of our valuable agricultural sector \u2013 but the specific challenges they face must be addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n
March 3, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The government must address the barriers that contribute to the underrepresentation of women in farming, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore. Deputy Whitmore, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on agriculture, was speaking ahead of an event celebrating Irish Women in Farming, which will be jointly hosted tomorrow (Tuesday, March 4) by the European Commission […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[410,268,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","category-jennifer-whitmore","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n