When it comes to the agricultural industry, women have tended to be on the periphery. Let’s be honest – it’s been a male[1]dominated industry for decades, if not centuries. However, the tide is turning and wāhine on farms across the motu are taking on more leadership roles than ever before.
At Pāmu, we have many examples of women in positions that even 20 years ago wouldn’t have been the case. Take Trinity Jackson for example. Trinity started as a casual at the Ruru Dairy Unit in 2021, and within two years, through hard work and dedication, she’d earned herself a farm manager’s position. Trinity’s love of livestock and passion for protecting the environment and building connections clearly shines through – she was awarded the 2024 Dairy Manager of the Year for the West Coast/Top of the South.
Cleo Te Kiri is another of our leaders who continues to rise. She started with Pāmu 10 years ago as a farm technician and now finds herself as Dairy Business Manager Organics. This wasn’t by chance either but through demonstrating her value and earning the roles along the way.
Through changes to policy, Cleo was able to balance career progression with having a family – something that can be a challenge for many wāhine. Working with her manager Shaun Neely, they found ways to make the juggle work.
These policy changes didn’t just happen though. As part of Pāmu’s revision of how to support working parents and elevate women in the business, Chief People, Safety and Reputation Officer Bernadette Kelly asked Cleo to give some insights on her experience.
Cleo wrote a paper and gave recommendations based on research on other companies.
“A massive testament to Pāmu, they completely flipped from what we had to what we have now and took almost everything onboard and made those changes – it was chalk and cheese.
“What is cool is that, during the time of having young kids and being pregnant, I was promoted, so I’ve felt no discrimination toward what chapter I am in in terms of my progression.”
Nature of Leadership programme
Nurturing and growing our people is a key priority for Pāmu, which is why the Nature of Leadership programme was put in place. Kat Broomfield, Regional Farm Business Manager in Taupō, went through in the first cohort and loved getting to understand her own leadership style, those of her colleagues and learning about self-awareness tools to help her improve as a manager.
Sustainability-linked loans – our commitment
We’re committed to ensuring farming activities contribute positively to both the environment and our communities so we’ve teamed up with ANZ, ASB and Westpac to bring sustainability linked loans to our people. If we meet our targets, we receive a discount.
One of those targets is to improve gender representation in the number of permanent staff we have. Annual milestone targets have been set that will help us achieve a target of at least 40% female representation across the business by 2030.
Take a look around
You don’t have to look too far to see wāhine in leadership roles right across Pāmu. On farm, we have farm managers, business managers and 2ICs, and in corporate, we have three chiefs and many ‘heads of’. These women are there because they are the right fit for the role – they have the skills, knowledge and experience to be there.
We know the benefits of retaining our people – investing in them to be the best they can be is exactly what we’re doing.
