Women (i.e. people that identify with womanhood) are still underrepresented in the agricultural sciences. Our platform intends to build a supportive community for empowering and inspiring women by sharing women’s stories/experiences in the ag sciences and to educate the general public about the importance of agricultural sciences and women representation in this field.

 

Why do we need to feature these women?

 

1. When you do a quick google search about women in science, all the websites focus on STEM fields. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Right now, agriculture is seen as something utterly different from STEM. Agriculture would not exist without using science, technology, engineering, and math. The problem with this is that many websites about women in science or women in STEM often leave out women who perform roles within the STEM disciplines in agriculture. Also, agricultural sciences are an inter- and multidisciplinary field,  where many disciplines collaborate in addition to STEM disciplines, including social sciences, communications, economics, and others. 

 

2. Agriculture as a career option is highly stigmatized. Many people, when they think about agriculture, they think about farmers. While farming is a great profession, it is not the only option to pursue when it comes to working in agriculture. There are many career options but we can  summarize them in five highly generalized types:

 

- Agricultural communications: How else would you find out about a product or important news in agriculture, if it weren't for our communicators?

 

- Agricultural economics: Agriculture, as well as other job fields, runs on making wise decisions with the intention of saving money. We need people that can help in that decision to keep working, keep people employed, and most importantly, feed the world. 

 

- Agricultural education: In a time of social and economic inequalities and grave misinformation, having prepared and qualified educators are important for the future of agriculture and of humankind. This area ranges from all education levels to large agricultural organizations. 

 

- Social sciences: Problems in agriculture can often be tied around societal problems. We need social scientists to study “why?” and “how come?” of people’s needs. This way, the science done is relevant and impactful to human beings.

 

- All those who engage in STEM disciplines: plant pathology, entomology, horticulture, soil science, food science, agricultural engineering and animal science fall in this category. Whether it is studying economically important plants and animals, developing new technology, understanding the ever-changing climate and environment that surrounds us, and how that impacts the organisms we are interested in or ensuring the safety of the food we consume. All of these involve arduous research to ensure our well-being as well as the environment. 

 

3. There are not enough women in agriculture. Many roles can influence this reality but, regardless, it is our job to change it. We need to acknowledge the ones who are here now and thriving, but we have to increase our numbers too.  

 

 

How will these women be recognized?

 

Conducting interviews about women in different agricultural fields and creating original content that focuses on important topics ranging from professional development to personal stories and even, lifestyle tips.

 

In order to increase visibility, break the stigma, and increase representation and diversity, a website is not the only way to do it. It is only a start. However, for this initiative to have an impact, all of us can have a role in supporting this cause whether it is following our website and social media accounts, sharing our content, or expressing interest in collaborating with the initiative.