Gender Gap In NZ Horticulture Leadership: Call For Action Ahead Of International Women’s Day

As International Women’s Day (IWD) approaches this week, there are calls to address the stark gender disparity gap between men and women leading New Zealand’s horticultural industry.

International Women’s Day (IWD), celebrated annually on March 8, honours the achievements of women across all aspects of life - social, economic, cultural, and political - while also advocating for gender equality.

“Although women make up nearly half of the horticulture workforce, they represent just 20 percent of leadership positions,” said Stephanie Wrathall, Project Manager for Women in Horticulture (WiH).

This year’s IWD theme, Accelerate Action, emphasises the urgency to break down systemic barriers and biases that hinder women’s progress.

“As we mark International Women’s Day, we encourage everyone involved in New Zealand’s horticultural sector to question what we can do to encourage more females to pursue high-value leadership roles in horticulture.

“The time has come to ditch unconscious bias and stereotypes and get more rural women into top leadership positions. It’s time to put an emphasis on the value that women can bring to the food and fibre sector and do more to support their place within it.”

New research released by the Food and Fibre Centre of Vocational Excellence last November estimates there are 15,200 rural women across New Zealand who are connected with the food and fibre sector workforce who are not currently working full-time.

The research project considered ways in which future training programmes could be designed to best meet rural women’s needs and examined the barriers that are currently preventing women from becoming more involved.

“Many women need to work around school hours or cannot study during busy times of the year such as annual harvests. Living in a rural or isolated community creates other problems around transport and costs. As an industry, we need to do things differently so we can Accelerate Action and achieve gender equality in this country.”

WiH believes flexibility is crucial for both training and employment opportunities to help women juggle multiple roles and family commitments, alongside pursuing a horticultural career.

“Women can really enhance the success of our nurseries, orchards, greenhouses, fresh produce farms, export businesses and industry organisations. But we have to make room for them in the workplace and be prepared to make changes to the way we train and operate our businesses. We need to encourage women to put themselves forward – many underestimate the value of the skills they already possess from working part-time or general life experience.”

Horticulture plays a vital role in New Zealand’s economy, with a farmgate value of $4.19 billion. The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report shows a significant gender pay gap still exists in New Zealand (8.2%). Pacific and Māori women face the biggest pay gap, earning about 20% less than European men per hour, while European women earn about 5% less than their male counterparts.

WiH’s goal is for New Zealand to become a world leader for gender equity in this sector while also boosting productivity through inclusivity.

One of the most impactful ways groups people can mark International Women's Day is by championing their own IWD campaign within their community. Here is a free resource, pledge cards, to help remind you of how to accelerate action for wāhine in your community: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/PledgeCards

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