Today I attended the first day of National Rural Women’s
Coalition Conference at the National Convention Centre in Canberra.
Me (L) with Viv Thomson, a finalist in the NSW RIRDC Rural Women's Award 2013 catching up before Conference
(photo: Georgie Somerset)
Approximately 400 women, from all over Australia gathered to
explore the themes Big Challenges, Big Inspiration, Big Business and Big
Networks.
The day started with the usual welcomes from the organisers and got underway with a keynote by Minister Simon Crean who challenged the women in the room to get involved in creating change. He noted that the most creative solutions to community-identified problems are those driven by communities. I was buoyed by his vision of embedding localism in the way governments engage with communities, seeking “place-based” solutions first. Wouldn’t that be nice!
Minister Crean was followed by Diana Gibbs, a Board member of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and Miriam Silva the former General Manager of Commercial Operations at Elders Ltd who both shared their stories and lessons for women seeking leadership roles. Catherine Marriott, Director of “Influential Women” was next up urging rural women to engage with consumers to build trust in agriculture.
Then it was off to morning tea, before the concurrent sessions started. First up I chose “Big Business” which featured Pip Job from Little River Landcare and Catherine Marriott again.
Pip Job introduced the concept of “Women in the Landscape”
in order to engage rural women, some of whom felt they didn’t have ownership of
farm practices, in Landcare.
It's been so successful that now more than 60% of field day
attendees are women. Importantly,
these women often bring their children to meetings, so they’ve introduced a
kids program to nurture these future Landcarers. Great vision!
Pip Job, CEO - Little River Landcare
Catherine Marriott spoke in more detail of her vision for a
world where animal agriculture was valued and supported – achieved through one
conversation at a time. Farmers need to present positive and accurate messages
to the general public. She calls for a values-based explanation of agricultural
practices; grounded in ethics, scientifically supported and economically
viable.
Her six tips for having an effective conversation include:
- Be principle driven
- Listen – don’t judge
- Ask questions and invite dialogue
- Identify common values
- Control your emotions
- Define the conversation’s outcome
I would add - set out to share your story, not “educate”
consumers. Too often (including
about 5 times before 10am today) I hear farmers say urban people “need to be
educated.” No we don’t. We’re not stupid.
But understanding your business or production methods will help us make
purchasing decisions that match with our values. Saying I need to be educated
immediately puts me on the defensive, which is not conducive to two-way
conversations.
Catherine Marriott, Director - Influential Women
Next I set off to “Big Inspiration” where Kerry Anderson from
Community Leadership Loddon Murray (CLLM) spoke on “Encouraging Entrepreneurism
in Rural Areas.” Working in three
rural Victorian Shires, CLLM are exploring ways of reversing the population
decline through the development of strategies to support local
entrepreneurs. It was a wake up
call for these farming communities when 1000 students in Years 7 – 12 identified
agriculture as only the third most popular career aspiration after education
and training, and the “creative arts” like journalism, design, multimedia,
fashion etc. Further, only 47% of
these students planned to return home after university. Working on the theory
that modern technology allows businesses to be created anywhere, a committee is
working on identifying the barriers and solutions to support young people
start businesses. Can’t wait to see the outcomes!
Kerry's final slide - inspiring us to action!
Yolanda Vega from the Australian Women Chamber of Commerce
presented on Facts about Rural, Regional and Metro Women Business Owners. And
guess what? We actually have more in common than we might think! Women in business in Australia,
regardless of location, are driven by the same goals and face the same
challenges. The top 3 reasons for starting a business were the same for both metropolitan
and rural/regional women:
- To be my own boss
- Work/life balance
- Flexibility
There is no difference in working hours, or the start up funds used to establish their business ($5,000 or less). Interestingly of all women surveyed, agriculture recorded the highest rates of gender discrimination (46%) followed by transport (43%) and construction (42%). Really? Women in agriculture feel more discriminated against than women in construction? Wow.
After lunch I checked out "Big Networks" with Kelly Foran, Georgie Somerset and Alison Mobbs
Kelly was up first to tell the story of her foundation “Friendly Faces, Helping Hands” which was established to provide information and support for rural families needing hospital care in metropolitan centres. Kelly has her own amazing tale of survival. Diagnosed with a brain tumour when 8 months pregnant and a subsequent stroke saw her as a new mother on a walking frame…at 29. She now helps rural families negotiate city hospital stays by providing practical information like the cheapest parking, nearest 24 hour supermarket, family friendly motels and "cheap eats." This helps ease the pressure on families already under enormous stress. You can donate at their website - a program worth supporting!
The team from Queensland Rural Regional and Remote Women’s Network were up next to reflect on 20 years of the network. It was interesting to note how technology has facilitated a subtle shift in the way we network. The QRRRWN are extremely active in the social media space which is creating a nationwide network of women, in rural, regional, remote AND metropolitan areas.
Georgie spoke about the monthly webinars where #strongwomen share their views on overcoming isolation. I found it interesting
that this is not (as you might expect in Queensland!) solely about geographical
isolation, but about the isolation women can feel in leadership positions or
not-for-profit roles. I'd love this topic to be explored in more detail at a future conference!
Georgie Somerset and Alison Mobbs from the QRRRWN
The Conference continues tomorrow.
