A program designed to support more women in agricultural leadership is helping participants find ways to balance professional contributions with family life

For GRDC Southern Panel member Pru Cook, continuing to work in agriculture while managing the realities of rural life and family commitments was not something she saw as aspirational – it was something she expected to be able to do. But making it happen was more challenging than anticipated.

Based in the Wimmera, Ms Cook had spent over a decade working in grains industry agricultural extension when she started exploring how she could continue to contribute, without compromising family life.

In 2021, she applied for and was accepted into the National Farmers’ Federation Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program (DiALP). The program helped her refine how to structure work to fit her needs while still actively participating in the industry.

“It reinforced that there isn’t just one way to contribute to agriculture,” she says.

It helped me think through how I could continue to show up in a way that worked for me, my family, and my rural location – without having to choose between them.

Business terms

Ms Cook started her consulting business in August 2020, while navigating life with a seven-month-old baby and the uncertainty of COVID-19.

“I knew I wanted to keep working in agriculture and stay actively involved in the industry,” she says. “But I needed to do it in a way that worked for my family and my circumstances.”

DiALP, delivered through a three-day retreat, online sessions and mentoring, provided insights into different ways to structure a career in agriculture in a format accessible to women with young children.

“I didn’t need the program to show me that leadership can look different, I already knew that,” she says. “But it did give me the space to think about how I wanted my career to evolve and reinforced that there were multiple ways to stay engaged.”

She also appreciated the support of those around her. “Andrew Russell, the current GRDC Southern Panel chair, and John Bennett, the former chair, have been great advocates for ensuring that parents, especially mothers with young children, are actively involved in the GRDC Southern Panel.”

Opportunities

Ms Cook is passionate about ensuring women with young children are not shut out of leadership roles in agriculture. But she acknowledges that structural barriers, such as workplace expectations and a lack of childcare in regional areas, can make it incredibly difficult.

“It’s frustrating,” she says. “I was recently facilitating a group of women in a regional area where there were virtually no childcare options at all, which was limiting professional opportunities. That’s leading to profound feelings of disconnection and dissatisfaction with life in farming communities.”

She believes having more women involved in leadership is not just important for individuals, but is also critical for regional communities.

For regional communities to thrive, we need women to have the opportunity to contribute meaningfully in addition to their parenting responsibilities.

As for her own daughter, Ms Cook hopes she grows up seeing that a fulfilling career and a regional life are not mutually exclusive.

“I want my daughter to see that she can have a fulfilling career and live in the place where she grew up, that you don’t have to move to the ‘big smoke’ to feel like you’re successful career-wise,” she says.

She encourages other women with young children to explore opportunities such as DiALP if they are looking for ways to stay engaged in the industry.

More information: Katelyn Lubcke, katelyn.lubcke@grdc.com.au

Resources: National Farmers Federation – Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program.