Following up on last week's guest article on women in agriculture, here's SRUC Rural Business Management student Alanah Gordon looking at how access to training and education can transform women's agricultural roles.
With agriculture being a male-dominated industry, women can face barriers and challenges entering the industry. Having access to training and education is therefore essential in allowing women to progress within the industry.
Training and education are vital parts for women entering agriculture, so today we are going to review what’s out there for women. When this research was carried out, The Scottish Government was providing ‘The Women in Agriculture Practical Training Fund’ to support the personal development of women in the industry, giving them additional skills to help with their career and opportunities within the sector. The aim was to provide new employment opportunities for women in Scottish agriculture, with a focus on making this accessible to women living on islands (Lantra – Scotland, 2019). The Women in Agriculture Practical Training Fund was open to any woman aged 13 years or older who lives in Scotland and working or studying in the industry, or someone who was just looking for a way to get started. Up to £500 was available per course, however, if more was needed, additional value could be demonstrated within the application (Skillshub.scot, 2026).
This training fund gave women the chance to gain practical qualifications, build confidence, and enhance their chances of employment in the industry. The training fund also reduced barriers for women and helped the industry too as it helps gain a more skilled agricultural workforce. Continued support from the government is needed to promote accessible training, and women considering a career in the industry should not hesitate to explore these opportunities, as barriers may be reduced by higher levels of uptake, as well as increasing the female representation in agriculture.
Research shows that Harper Adams University was the first institution to allow women to study agriculture full-time, with some recent data showing that 64% of their agricultural students identify as women (Harper-adams.ac.uk, 2023).
Data provided by the section lead for agricultural systems, Philip Wrigglesworth, at SRUC Aberdeen campus showed the proportion of females studying agricultural courses in Scotland compared to the proportion of males. In the most recent academic year across all SRUC campuses at HNC level, there were 61 males and 49 females. However, at HND level, there were only 37 males but 43 females. Following onto BSc level, there were 20 males and 23 females, then at BSc Hons level, there were just 5 males and 8 females, as shown in the graph below.
Figure 1 - Proportion of male: female students by level (Wrigglesworth, 2025)
This shows that although at the lower levels of qualification there is a high level of males, by HND level the total is higher with females, and it stays like that right through to degree level. Wrigglesworth also stated that SRUC has an action plan to try to increase opportunities for women within the agriculture industry. This data provided by SRUC suggests that while there are still more males entering agricultural education, the females who do enter are more likely to progress to higher levels.
Even though this data shows that the numbers in women in agricultural education is increasing, continued support is still required to keep this up. Women considering a career in the industry should not hesitate to explore these opportunities, as barriers may be reduced by higher levels of uptake, as well as increasing female representation in agriculture. We will be looking into the reasons why there may still be some barriers next week.
Alanah Gordon
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Lantra - Scotland. (2019). Women in Agriculture Practical Training Fund. [online] Available at: https://www.scotland.lantra.co.uk/women-agriculture-practical-training-fund. [Accessed 18 Dec 2025]
Skillshub.scot. (2026). Skills Hub Scotland. [online] Available at: https://skillshub.scot/applications/intro?course=mDduUr4ktQdk3a6vwl2s&training-fund=2 [Accessed 8 Jan. 2026].
Harper-adams.ac.uk. (2023). Empowering female farmers to change the world. [online] Available at: https://www.harper-adams.ac.uk/blog/post/2852/empowering-female-farmers-to-change-the-world. [Accessed 8 Jan 2026]