Women in Agriculture: The Chapter Missing From Our History Books
Jul 4, 2024
4 min read
0
26
Women in Agriculture: The Chapter Missing From Our History Books
Published: July 27th, 2019
Updated: March 5th, 2025
In the patriarchal society we live in, women are always working in the kitchen, right? Nope! Female work started on the farm and ended in the kitchen. Women saw the food from start to finish. As a woman in Agriculture myself, I speak from experience. I’ve gleaned so much knowledge and background from my job on an agriculture farm these last seven years. Subscribe to my email list to find out more.
I’m not the only one with something to say.
The World Bank Group put it as follows: "As the primary caregivers to families and communities, women provide food and nutrition; they are the human link between the farm and the table." (1)
So what happened? Why were women dashed from our farming history books? Read on to find out.
History Got it Wrong: Women Were a Huge Part of the Agricultural Industry
Audra Mulkern, a former Microsoft employee from Seattle, Washington, was searching for historical documents and pictures to prove women were in the agriculture industry from the beginning. In her research, she found that women have been on tractors, milking cows, and tending crops as often as men. Even so, these ladies seem to have been erased from agricultural history as we know it. (2)
Since this article was first published, Audra has made fantastic progress. Her work on The Female Farmer Project has been astounding and inspirational. She has gathered story after story that showcases how women in agriculture are thriving just like their ancestral mothers did. Check out her podcast to get all the details. (3)
Want even more great content like this? Click here subscribe.
The history of agriculture is long and in it less than 1% of women have been represented by its narrative. Women were left off property documents, equipment receipts, and tractor titles simply because they were female. This shows why obtaining pictures or documents of women in agriculture– especially from the past– has been so difficult. Women have been in this sector since the start, but they were left out of the history books. (2)
During World War II, women took over all kinds of farming and agricultural jobs. As stated by journalist Lisa Foust Prater in an article about the history of women's work, between April of 1940 and July of 1942, two million men left farm jobs in the United States. That meant 1.5 million non-farming women were then moved to agriculture and farm jobs between 1943 and 1945, dramatically changing the agricultural sector. (7)
These ladies dared to do a job unknown to them to help their country in times of war. That is nothing short of courageous and noble, just like women farmers today.
Brave females like these have left their mark on the history of agriculture. The strength they acquired from being involved in the industry lives on to this day, passed from generation to generation.
Our Records Have it Wrong: Women in Ag Then and Now
Although women have been a huge part of the farming industry, they have been kept in the dark. Women's Land of Army for America (WLA) was a branch of the U.S. Crop Corps, where women were prepared to take over farm jobs. They were given training, wore uniforms, and were called “Farmettes” or “Land Girls.” Most people are unfamiliar with this group but recognize the iconic Rosie the Riveter, which symbolized women in the workforce, yet not specifically in agriculture. (2)
Women in agriculture are protagonists to our planet’s history– but it’s not just in the past that they have been relevant. Back when this article was published women farmers represented ¼ of the global population - and in developing countries, they constituted over 40% of the entire agricultural workforce. Now women represent more than 40% of the world's labor force on agricultural farms. (4)
In 2012, India hosted the Global Conference on Women in Agriculture, (5) and in July of 2019 the Women in Agriculture Conference took place in Tucson, Arizona. (6)
This illuminates how women were involved in agriculture on a local scale and still are today. Audra is a great example of national involvement with women in agriculture, as she has helped gather historical pictures and documents of women farmers.
For more relevant content like this– click here.
Women in Ag: They Can’t Stop Us
In Africa and Asia, women are still considered the vast majority of the agricultural labor force, which once again proves that women's empowerment is very present in the farming industry, then and now.
In August 2019 Brazil hosted over 100,000 women for the 6th annual March of the Daisies, the largest movement of women farmers in Latin America. These women marched to defend their lands, their forests, and their waters. The movement was inspired by Margarida Maria Alves, a leader of rural workers in the 1970s who was murdered 42 years ago. Margarida became a symbol of this march that encompasses large-scale action by Latin American women. Women from over 27 countries spoke up for social justice and equality. (8)
Women have tons of roles on the farm today– just like they did in the beginning:
Cow herder
Tractor driver
Bookkeeping
Crop security
Ag journalism
Research and Development
These roles and the women in them have proven that we’ve been present in this industry from the start and we’re not going anywhere. (9)
Female representation may be lacking in our history books. Women are making sure that these agents of change in agriculture and local communities are being talked about. From local to national to global involvement, women have been working on crops, milking the cows, and driving the tractors with grace for decades. It is time for the world to recognize the transformative power of women in agriculture. We are making our lands more sustainable and resilient for future generations. Subscribe to my email list to stay up-to-date on important issues like this.
References
Related Posts
