UNDER LENSES AND WITHIN A LABYRINTH: DAIRY FARMING WOMEN IN THE U.S.

Across all U.S. agricultural industries, women represented 14% of primary-operators in 2019. Women in the dairy industry are underrepresented with a 4.1% share of primary-operators compared to their male counterparts. The Journal of Dairy Science has approximately one published article in relation to decision-making systems or human management that includes gender demographics. Past research on agricultural decision-makers provides evidence that a productivity gap exists in male-dominated industries. A survey was conducted to investigate what factors influence a woman to become a primary decision-maker in the dairy industry. Participants were divided into two groups, a high and a low, based on the mean of total respondents’ (n=30) A-WEAI score. A Probit regression model was ran on variables to find correlation between the high group. Results demonstrate that a higher level of education was statistically significant (p>0.039) for respondents within the high A-WEAI score group. Previous research confirms that a higher level of formal education is a central theme shared by women who become decision-makers in the agricultural industries. Industry trends show that the future dairy industry will have more representation of women. As the percentage of women increases in the dairy sector, it may lower the wage for both women and men in the industry. Applicable implications for the dairy industry include bringing awareness to the barriers that women may face, restructuring of intrinsic values, monitoring the pay outlook, and working to make dairy industry employment competitive and progressive.