A Helping Hand
Inspiring mentor-mentee relationships are fast becoming a hallmark of our Meryl Williams Fellowships. The partnerships are a means of building professional networks and developing technical skills, but also sharing emotional support.
"Watching these relationships evolve and spark is one of the great joys of our program," says GEAReD's Lead Trainer Dr Rebecca Spence. "Our fellows are often battling uphill and working in isolation. It's really exciting to see what they can achieve with a mentor's assistance. We hope these lifelong partnerships will embolden mentees personally and professionally throughout their careers."
Here, mentor and social scientist Dr. Nozomi Kawarazuka, based in Hanoi, and Meryl Williams Fellow and mentee Pham Thi Hoa, working in rural Vietnam, explain that the benefits flow in both directions.
Tell us where you work and what you do.
Nozomi: I work as a social scientist with the International Potato Centre, focussing on gender analysis in rural Vietnam. My aim is to contribute to inclusive and equitable international agricultural development.
Hoa: I work in the central highlands of Vietnam for the Crop Production and Plant Protection sub-department of the Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, helping to ensure that agro-forestry (agriculture that incorporates the growing of trees) is sustainable.
What do you hope to achieve through the mentor program?
Hoa: I want to improve my leadership skills and also do something for those ethnic minority farmers that protect forests. Soon after meeting Nozomi I came up with the project to create a sustainable bamboo drinking straw business. I thought this could help farmers to understand the importance of protecting forest resources and also provide new opportunities for women.
Nozomi: I want to contribute to empowering female agricultural researchers in this country, by valuing their voices and ideas. It is the first step to improving the livelihoods of disadvantaged farmers, half of whom are women. Agricultural development policy and planning tends to support men’s ideas and interests, because men are the dominant gender in decision-making at the intra-household, community, national and regional levels. Similarly, the voices of ethnic minorities and the younger generation are not thoroughly reflected in planning. If agricultural development aims to reduce poverty, we need to listen to those voices.
Explain how gender plays out in Vietnamese agricultural production and what key challenges female scientists like Hoa face.
Nozomi: Female agricultural researchers tend to hold lower positions in their institutions and often have limited influence in decision-making. As a result, agriculture remains masculine and it is difficult for female researchers to grow their careers. Hoa is one of only a few female researchers in her rural province and often works in the field alone. She is a leader in forestry conservation and management, but men dominate the development of her department's policies and practices. She would also like to encourage more colleagues to join her team and collaborate.
Conventional agricultural studies only reveal technical problems, and neglect the underlying gender and social problems. Even if the government offers new technologies, they are not adopted by disadvantaged people, such as women from poor households, ethnic minorities and young people. Technically feasible and economically sound approaches are not necessarily socially feasible. To address this issue, we need to diversify research teams by including more female researchers from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds.
What do you think of Hoa's drinking straw idea?
Nozomi: The sustainable use of bamboo resources by making straws is an innovative idea that can foster women’s participation in production, marketing and consumption. This would not only directly support women but also influence agro-forestry policy to be more equitable and inclusive. If we can connect the forest with a commercial market - local cafes and even export markets - that will raise awareness among farmers that they are globally connected. It could show how their forest is contributing to global sustainability.
Tell us what you did together in early July.
Hoa: We organised a workshop for farmers over two days. We invited them to discuss the impact of climate change on the livelihoods of local people and to explain how gender differences impact forest management and climate change mitigation strategies. We also visited a village in the central highlands to talk to farmers about agro-forestry and the drinking straw project.
What did the female farmers think?
Nozomi: The workshop highlighted one of the major challenges Hoa faces - how to get women involved. Of the 174 people who came, only 30 were women. This was an important lesson. Hoa cannot be the only one to invite farmers; the government also needs to encourage women to participate. The problem is that women are already busy. We can't simply ask them to come to the workshop in the commune hall, on the top of their domestic work; it would only add to their burden. Instead, we needed to visit their villages.
However, the ethnic minority women we spoke with understand the need for forest protections. They are very interested and could be part of that.
What else did you learn?
Nozomi: Local people are very supportive of protecting agro-forestry. But for a long time men have assumed that women don't or can't play important roles. All rangers who monitor the forests and protect them from poachers are men. But the women tell us that they care a lot about forest protection and that forest health directly affects them. They are concerned about the loss of biodiversity and the way that climate change could cause forest destruction or even landslides. They depend on the forests for an income, food, firewood, for materials to make baskets, and women educate the children about agro-forestry.
The government says climate change is important and forestry is important, but many of its activities and discussions are dominated by men. This means there is a huge gap. If women are involved in those activities and discussions, forest protection could be much more efficient.
So what's next?
Nozomi: We can't change gender norms overnight, but I think Hoa and I can write a forestry brief about what farmers are thinking about climate change and agro-forestry, and what we could do better by involving women. About 65% of the people in rural communities belong to ethnic minorities, and the tradition is that men come to live in their wife's house. This makes it a little easier to involve women in agro-forestry activities and decision-making because they have some power.
Hoa: We plan to hold another workshop in November and I hope we will involve more women. If we want busy women to attend, we have to go to them, to their village, and create a small meeting at a location they can easily reach by motorbike. We have spoken with the Women's Union, the government institute to empower women, and we hope to work together in the future. For the straw project, we need to find a light, thin bamboo. We have asked a female farmer to find out if they grow a suitable variety, and we may look at doing some trials.
How is the mentoring program benefiting you?
Hoa: I feel very comfortable sharing my ideas with Nozomi and she understands my thinking. We have a very good friendship and she supported me to organise the workshop and gave me ideas on how men and women work in the field, which has been very helpful. Now I have a good idea of how to deal with gender issues and I feel more comfortable to create future proposals. With Nozomi’s advice, I was successful in getting an ACIAR fund to research the impact of COVID-19 on vegetable and flower producers in Lam Dong province. I also hope to secure funds to research waste management later this year.
Nozomi: Mentoring others allows me to gain new knowledge and skills, and to network, which enriches my professional career. Hoa and many other Meryl Williams Fellows have great capacities in their research areas. What they need from their mentor is encouragement and to see that someone values their ideas. That can make a big difference in their career. As a female researcher who works on gender, I also want to support the fellows to develop a critical lens, to question gender norms in their workplace as well in the environments in which they work, where female farmers and minority groups are constrained.
Hoa and I are a mentor and mentee, but we work more as equals. We are close in age and experience. My visit to Lam Dong helped me to understand Hoa's work environment. She has strong networks and support from government. It is not easy to organise a workshop or visit farms if you don't have trust. Visiting Hoa helped me to understand better her capacity and resources, and I think we can now move forward with more concrete ideas. I am learning from Hoa that if you share an idea and someone encourages you, you can make progress.
And finally, Hoa, how are you feeling about being a Meryl Williams Fellow?
Hoa: I am very proud. It not only supports me to be more confident; it also helps me to find out my capacity and how I can learn to be better. In the forestry sector there are few females working at the provincial level. I have never had a mentor before. I really appreciate the Meryl Williams program supporting me and introducing me to Nozomi, and consider Dr Rebecca Spence my UNE mentor. There is great potential for us to do things together in the future. I am on top of the moon right now.
Written by Amanda Burdon.
Applications for the 2021 intake of the Meryl Williams Fellowship opened 1st May 2020 and will close on 31st July 2020. The fellowship is fully funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and delivered by the University of New England.
Applications are open to women working in agriculture, aquaculture and silviculture sciences from the Philippines, Nepal, Myanmar, Mongolia, Timor Leste, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands.
Men and women from those same countries are also able to apply to join the program as a mentor. Please visit www.geared.global/aboutmwf for more information.