Breaking down NZ fences

There is no shortage of talented women to step up to these roles. The background of women entering the sector has changed significantly over the past decade due to increased education and career opportunities in New Zealand and Australia. Thirty per cent of agricultural training centre graduates are women and technology and social ideals are removing physical barriers to on-farm management, once the domain of men.

More than 50 per cent of university graduates with agricultural degrees are women. In addition there are women who already have in many cases had long careers in agriculture. The sector is unique in that women make up 50 per cent of farm business ownership and management. The latent talent held by many of these women comes from years of community and business contribution and often a former professional career before farming and family.

Five years ago I founded the Agri Women's Development Trust (AWDT) to help women from a broad range of backgrounds obtain the skills required for management or senior management agri-business roles. Many of the new women directors of New Zealand's leading agribusinesses are graduates of AWDT's leadership and governance program, Escalator, one of the Trust's fit-for-purpose programs.

However, it's not only boards and companies reaping the benefits. Graduates of all AWDT programs are leading in new ways throughout the sector, including in farming businesses, at industry level, in local government and in major water and environmental projects. These women are tackling the tricky issues and problems, showing they have a knack for leadership in complex situations.

This knack for leadership is vital for the agri sector to successfully deal with some of its challenges - doubling agricultural exports and harnessing opportunities presented by an abundant supply of water, coupled with a global reputation as a producer of high-end, quality product. While equipping women with the necessary skills is a critical part of what ADWT does, it also helps women find a path to these roles by researching, identifying and raising awareness about roadblocks that have traditionally been in place.

While there is an increased understanding of the value of diversity, one of my challenges as executive director of the AWDT has been to demystify and define why this is of value. This has been done by engaging men, by working with and not against them in strong partnerships, explaining the value of diversity within this sector and the need for engaging the whole talent pool, effectively describing a vision of what this could look like.

At a grass roots level there is still much to be done. Women can't sit at the decision-making table if they are busy making cups of tea when the bank manager calls. Or if they don't have access to the right skills and knowledge to drive farm business performance or don't see themselves as adding value and leading business.

At the corporate level we are seeing greater engagement and willingness to support women into senior leadership roles but there is less understanding that how women authentically lead might look very different to the traditional view of leadership. For this to happen, mind-sets and the traditional notion of leadership need to change.

This is a harder and slower journey. However our corporate graduates are succeeding in finding where to lead and how to lead. In September 2015 we will be five years old and there has been massive change from one program catering for 14 women to five programs catering for 500. Women are learning to get comfortable with leading, seeing themselves as capable of tackling complex problems and stepping up and sitting at the decision making table. I can't wait to see what this new landscape looks like in 2020.