ABBOTSFORD – The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) wants to see more women assume roles in agriculture, not only to achieve gender parity throughout the industry, but also to help reduce labour and skills shortages.
The organization’s March 2025 report, From the Field to the Boardroom: Women Driving Change in Agriculture, cites Statistics Canada data that indicates 31% of on-farm agriculture workers, both farm operators and employees, were women in 2024.
BC is a leader of women in agriculture, with 46.5% of on-farm workers being female.
But national data indicates that women’s increasing share of the sector is due primarily to men leaving agriculture, rather than more women joining.
With the overall BC agricultural workforce declining 40% from 2020 to 2024, bringing more women into the industry at all levels is important.
“I think there is some intentionality in terms of women leadership,” says Stephanie Nelson, executive director of the BC Broiler Hatching Egg Commission (BCBHC) and chair of the BC Cranberry Marketing Commission.
Nelson is also a co-founder of the BC Ag Women’s Network, established in 2018. The network has been on hold for a little more than a year as Nelson and committee members look to determine the needs of the women who are “already busy in ag,” she says.
CAHRC’s report also mentions the National Women in Agriculture and Agri-Food Network project, which has a goal of ensuring at least 30% of leadership roles are occupied by women.
When Nelson started with BCBHC in 2008, she was the only woman executive director among the province’s poultry organizations. Today, the situation is reversed, with just one man.
“We are definitely seeing more women take part in the farming itself,” says Katie Lowe, another co-founder of BC Ag Women’s Network and executive director of BC Egg Marketing Board.
While the organization has an all-male board, it has had women members in the past, and Lowe is more concerned about the lack of women in non-primary agriculture roles such as feed sales and research.
CAHRC’s report noted that although 60% of agriculture degree holders are women, young women report more barriers than older women in areas like “breaking into the ‘old boys’ club,’” “preconceived notions of capability” and “balancing career and family.”
Its research identified these and other challenges, as well as potential solutions, and then CAHRC created an action plan that included training, networking and other events, which attracted 900 women.
Chilliwack egg producer Juschka Clarke, owner of Hazelsprings Farm, received a head start from her mother, her sole female mentor.
“This farm was passed down to me by my mom, so we have a long history of strong women in our family,” she says. “I’m excited about watching our young generation of women farmers rise to the occasion.”
Clarke’s daughter Emily now farms with her, continuing the legacy left by Clarke’s mother, who died two years ago.
Clarke believes women in agriculture create space for more women to enter the field.
“We’re actively involved in day-to-day operations,” Clarke says. “Even in families where it’s couples, women are involved in the day-to-day operations. Many of them can take over at the drop of a hat, and they do.”
While Clarke is making decisions about her commercial operation, just as her mother did as a hobby farmer, national data show that women are less likely than men to be the farm’s sole decision-maker.
Yet, compared with the rest of Canada, women in BC are twice as likely to be a sole operator as in the rest of Canada. This doesn’t mean it’s easy.
Pat Hanson of Andtbaka Farm, a 30-acre mixed farming operation in Powell River, has been farming for 46 years. She manages a market garden, three greenhouses, poultry, sheep, ducks, geese and some dairy and beef cattle.
But even with her decades of experience, Hanson has seen challenges as a female operator.
“As a woman [with one income], you kind of have to buy the second or third-hand [equipment] that someone has to fix,” she says. “I took a mechanics class, so I’m okay.”
She hopes things will be different for the next generation of women.
“I’d like to see way more women take a vested interest in agriculture,” she says. “To see more courses offered – even in the high school curriculum. I’d like to see more opportunities for young women to be exposed to it.”
In Langley, Tammy Rose sees different perspectives of agriculture in her primary business as an agent with Royal LePage Wolstencroft Realty and as operator of Green Tractor Farm, where she raises registered Babydoll sheep.
Rose sells hay, breeds and sells sheep and sells eggs with her eight-year-old son Aiden. They usually have six sheep at a time.
She doesn’t consider agriculture unique in the dominance of male operators.
“I grew up in a road construction family, so you’re kind of used to things like that,” she says. “The same as in real estate. You just need to adjust and approach it differently when you’re faced with those situations.”
Like Clarke and Hanson, she’s seeing women sharing more with each other and helping new farmers succeed, building the community and making sure the next generation is involved and “not just sitting on the sidelines.”
“In the ag industry, I think it’s really important for women to be involved in committees and the industry outside of the farm as well, as it keeps us visible and connected,” she says. “I think women can soften this industry quite a bit as well. We’re all here to help each other, in my opinion. Nobody wants to see anybody fail.”
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