Debate contribution: Women in Agriculture

Debate contribution by Mr Declan McAleer on 11 March 2025.

MLA

Mr Declan McAleer

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

11 March 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Women in Agriculture

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4855706

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you. I thank everyone for their constructive participation in today's debate. I was Chair of the Committee when the 'Breaking the Grass Ceiling' report was produced. I am glad that the report has not been left to sit and gather dust but is still a live document and that the Department is progressing some of its actions. I have many memories from when the report was being produced, but something that I remember most — everything has been touched on today — is that quite a number of females were very anxious about taking part in the study. They sourced my constituency office phone number to ring me up and share their experiences, because they did not want to be identified. The shared experience was that they had worked on the farm and were its natural inheritors; they had done all the hard yards and heavy lifting. However, when it came to inheriting the farm, they were looked over, and it went to the male in the family who perhaps had no role in the farm. The females who contacted me continued to labour under that shadow and did not want to cause any rifts in the family, but it was a source of annoyance to them. It was very sad that the women felt that they could not be heard to say that, but they still wanted their voices to be heard. Their voices are reflected in the report. John did a good job of summing up the debate, but I want to touch on some bits. Áine mentioned that only 5% of principal farmers are female and that that is a gross under-representation, but there is hope because 53% of the students doing agriculture courses are female, and that is good. Sian Mulholland famously mentioned not just the "glass ceiling" but the "sticky floor", and that is a very memorable comment. She also mentioned the importance of partnership and the whole-sector approach. Michelle McIlveen made the point that women are the unseen glue that holds the farm business together. She stressed the importance of continuing to invest in encouraging young women into the sector and said that the Farming for the Generations scheme is an opportunity to shape the policy. Diana Armstrong said that the male-dominated culture and attitude need to be addressed. She gave a good example about a constituent called Vicki, who was not from a farming background but has embraced farming and become a strong advocate, which she very eloquently explained. Patsy McGlone highlighted the fact that women face too many barriers. He concluded by saying that the imbalance is not only wrong but inhibits the growth of the agriculture sector. Aoife Finnegan referred to her experience of the Rural Health Partnership report in South Armagh, and that was very illuminating. There may be an opportunity to forward the report to the Department, if it does not already have it, so that it can look at some of the learning. Aoife also mentioned the all-Ireland approach. She sees the example of farms, down the road from her constituency of South Armagh, where very practical measures have been put in place by the Irish Government to encourage female participation in farming. Tom Buchanan made the point that women are taken for granted and labelled as "the farmer's wife". He said that action needs to be taken to remove the barriers and that societal change is also needed. Agriculture needs new ideas, and it is very important that young women are involved in the co-design of the Farming for the Generations scheme. Emma Sheerin gave her experience of being a farmer's daughter and described the multitasking role that women play on the farm. They are working on the farm, but they also take on most of the responsibility for rearing the family. A lot of women do the unseen work behind the scenes, such as the administration of the herd's movements. Robbie Butler said that the sector had been shaped by outdated structures. He gave a good example from his experience from the Fire and Rescue Service, where those structures were removed. In an intervention from Linda Dillon, the issue of schools and education was addressed. It is sad, and, in Robbie's contribution, he mentioned that, because of outdated stereotypes amongst careers teachers in some schools, many women had been put off going into farming. He gave a very good example from his personal experience of the Fire and Rescue Service. The Minister said that the debate was timely, following on from International Women's Day, and that, if progress goes at the current pace, it will be 2158 before there is full gender parity. He referenced his sustainable agriculture policy, with Farming for the Generations looking at the barriers to women. He said that his new rural policy that is under construction is being co-designed and that that is the central feature of it. He said that that will focus on breaking down barriers to "Accelerate action" and that gender equality is a focus for DAERA. He also said that this cannot just be done by the Department or the Government but that there is a huge role for the sector with a bottom-up approach. He said that outdated attitudes must be challenged, and he also challenged organisations to read the NFU Scotland report and implement its findings. He said that partnership is crucial if we want to make a difference.

905 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:15 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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