Women on the land

Press, 14 August 1978, Page 16

Women on the land

Sir, — Having been bought up to believe, and therefore expect, that newspapers present a relatively unbiased view in bringing to light instances of discrimination and malpractice, I was. disappointed to read an article by Lance Early (August 11) that was patently discriminatory. I quote: “Do you think that in today’s circumstances a young man should expect to own his own farm?” Where is equality? Are there no women farmers in New Zealand? Surely even a cursory glance at the student body at Lincoln College would reveal many female students. It would appear that the entry of women into farming shows yet again that there is one door for men and another for women. I am sure articles like this do nothing to encourage women already in the field. How about opening the door? — Yours, etc., W. E. HARDING. August 11, 1978.

[Lance Early replies: “Indeed we have ‘opened the door.’ To my knowledge the property of Miss Elizabeth Richards, at Windwhistle, has featured twice in our farm pages; similarly we have featured the f ■ruing achievements of Miss Kathleen Rutherford, of Parnassus. Some months ago we published a feature on the growing number of women students at Lincoln and the fields that were open to them. But the fact remains that the pressure to obtain land comes from the young men, particularly those from farming families. And because we live in a patriarchal society, the transfer of land generally involves father and son. Hence my use of the word ‘man.’ In any event, how many young women would want to be financed into farm properties worth up to $500,000? The fact that they do not shows that their objectives may be a little more realistic than those of many young men,”]