Celebrating Australia’s Rural Women

14-October-2008

Mrs Sophie Mirabella MP
Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare, Women and Youth

Senator Richard Colbeck
Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Joint Media Release.

Tomorrow is World Rural Women’s Day – and an opportunity for Australia to reflect on the great contributions made by our rural women, Shadow Minister for Women Sophie Mirabella and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Senator Richard Colbeck said.

``Rural women have worked incredibly hard to establish farming businesses, to produce crops, tend to livestock and to care for Australia’s fertile lands. They have done this while rearing families, building communities and becoming industry promoters and lobbyists,” Senator Colbeck said.

``Rural women have been integral to the development of recent important advances in agriculture, such as quality assurance and environmental management systems. And in the past rural women have also been the driving force behind the establishment of Landcare and School of the Air.”

Shadow Minister for Women Sophie Mirabella, who represents the rural electorate of Indi in Victoria, said it was also an opportunity to recognise the great work of rural women’s networks like the CWA, National Rural Women’s Coalition and Australian Women in Agriculture.

``Australia has a wonderful tradition of strong rural women supporting and being supported by their local communities. While machinery and modern technology may have made working the land a little different these days, there certainly is no shortage of new challenges facing today’s rural women,” Mrs Mirabella said.

``As parts of rural Australia struggle under the weight of prolonged drought conditions, many women have now added an off-farm job to their work load, while still trying to balance family needs and keep their farm business afloat.”

World Rural Women’s Day began at a UN conference for women in Beijing in September 1995 as a way to obtain recognition and support for the multiple roles of rural women.

``We encourage everyone to take time tomorrow to reflect on the achievements of Australia’s rural women, and to support rural communities at every opportunity,’’ Senator Colbeck and Mrs Mirabella said.

Facts on Rural Women:

source: www.rural-womens-day.org

• Rural women, mainly farmers, represent a quarter of the total world population – 1.6 billion
• Women produce on average more than half of all the food that is grown: up to 80% in Africa, 60% in Asia, and between 30-40% in Latin America and Western countries.
• Women own only 2% of the land, and receive only 1% of all agricultural credit.
• Only 5% of all agricultural extension resources are directed to women.
• The number of rural women living in poverty has doubled since 1970