We surveyed women participating in the Talamh Beo Soil Biodiversity EIP and from the Women’s Group about gender mainstreaming in the project and gender issues in agriculture more broadly to get a better understanding of the experiences of women in this sector from an Irish context. This is important because women make up a significant proportion of the agricultural workforce as well as owning a significant percentage of farms, yet they are notably underrepresented in representation, planning and decision-making roles that affect them directly.

For democracy to function effectively, women need to represent themselves, their issues and their needs. By listening to women describing the challenges they face, as well as listening to the opportunities they require, better and more effective policies and programs can be developed. It is important to amplify the voices of women in this sector as too often their experiences are ignored or dismissed.

As we put our project and other programs and schemes under a gender mainstreaming lens, we need to understand what brings women into the field and what larger issues frame this context.