Gender Segregation at Vocational Schools – Women Farm Apprentices’ Dilemma

Abstract

he transformation of agriculture in western industrial societies during the last decades has forced farm women into new spheres of labour and responsibility in order to secure the farms' existence. They have had to develop alternatives such as direct marketing or offering other services to earn an additional income and, especially on part-time farms, to take over more and more jobs that are conventionally done by men. Which role a woman on a farm performs seems to be handled very flexibly. In cases of necessity, it seems that women are allowed to extend their expected role without neglecting their traditional duties (Inhetveen and Blasche 1983;Janshen et al. 1984;Wonneberger et al. 1991; Burg and Endeveld 1994; Whatmore et al. 1994).But if women do not respect the boundary of the traditional women's sphere on the farm and try to alter their roles in a more extreme way by refusing their traditional duties and establishing a new role for themselves through the professionalization of those jobs on the farm which are conventionally assumed by men, they experience that farming in one's own right still means something different for women than it does for men in our society. Until now, women farmers have had to justify their demands for non-stereotypical spheres of work and responsibility on the farm (Vonderach et al. 1993;Brandth 1994;Haugen 1994;Schmitt 1997). Looking for professional acceptance, women farmers tend to downplay their femininity and reconstruct it according to the male standards of the occupation (Brandth 1994). To a certain degree, their biographies are influenced by reactions from people in their immediate surroundings and by structural and social conditions (Schmitt 1997). From the very beginning of an apprenticeship in agriculture, women are confronted by general role expectations which require them to reproduce the official gender norms of agricultural institutions. Which expectations do women farm apprentices experience in their T

The Object of Extension: Agricultural Education and Authentic Farmers in Pennsylvania

“…Women who identify themselves as farmers, and thus claim spaces of authority and knowledge, transgress the expected roles of women in rural communities (Leckie 1996; Liepins 2000; Trauger 2004; Pini 2005). These prevailing expectations of the roles of women are translated to the spaces of education on farm production, which are often male‐dominated and premised on the gendered division of labour on farms (Shortall 1996; Schmitt 1998).…”

Agricultural education: Gender identity and knowledge exchange

“…The notions that farming is a male occupation and that many women are not serious farmers are central to the discourses surrounding farming in agricultural communities in developed economies (Leckie, 1996;Schmitt, 1998;Pini, 2002). These stereotypes, linked to the general subordination of women in society, apply particularly to rural women and their association with social reproduction, 'wife-hood' and domesticity (Little and Panelli, 2003).…”

Investigating the economic visibility and contribution of UK women in agriculture through a systematic review of international literature

“…Particularly, women who enter the sector through marriage also have less access to training and networks (Shortall, 2002;Williams, 2006;. Furthermore, research argues that agricultural education services continue to offer only specific programmes which are not consistent with women's demands or requirements (Shortall, 1996;Liepins and Schick, 1998;Albright, 2006;Trauger et al, 2008;Brasier et al, 2009;Trauger, 2010;Charatsari et al, 2013), and content adheres to the traditional division of labour which may no longer represent women's evolving economic roles within modern farming systems (Shortall, 1996;Schmitt, 1998;Charatsari et al, 2013;Trauger 2010). In addition to this, other barriers may include that women hold competing commitments, such as family and work responsibilities in which training would interfere (Shortall, 2002;Little and Panelli, 2003;Charatsari et al, 2013;.…”