Women in the green industry
When I joined the Mariani Plants team in 2017, I was one of just a handful of women at our Garden Prairie nursery. This has been on my mind over the past few weeks of this Women’s History Month as we’ve been busy ramping up for spring and expanding our labor force. If you look around our nursery today, just five years later, you’ll see that half of our employees are now women, and this transformation has undeniably made us a better company and a stronger team. Combining the unique skills, experiences, knowledge, and perspectives of all the men and women here has led us to reevaluate our cultural practices and to look for ways to increase efficiency, and I think this process of self- reflection has been accelerated, in large part, due to the growing number of women on our team.
Most of us have been influenced or inspired by at least one strong woman in our lives. For me, that woman is my mom. She was raised by a single mom after her father died of cancer when she was 10, and that’s when she started working to help support her family. For over 30 years, she not only managed our household, but co-owned and operated our family farm, along with my dad. My parents were business partners who shared equally in the ups and downs of farm life, and they were equally affected by the extraordinary amount of stress that went along with it. But I was struck that my mom was often regarded as less than an equal partner by everyone from vendors to insurance adjusters to our own employees, and this was endlessly frustrating for her. It wasn’t until many years into adulthood that I began to fully realize how her resilience in the face of challenge has inspired and guided me throughout my own life.
If we were to delve into the language and politics around gender equality issues, I think we would find that many of us would be divided by our views based on political and/or generational differences, as well as our lived experiences. So, let’s not do that. I think most of us agree by now, whether we’re men or women, that women are equally as qualified and competent as men in any role. There is overwhelming evidence that shows companies with more women in leadership roles are tied to increased productivity and stronger profits. This isn’t to say that a company with a female CEO is going to outperform a company with a male CEO, but, rather, organizations with more diversity when it comes to filling leadership positions will typically outperform those with less. And this makes sense; a more diverse leadership team will bring a wider range of experiences and perspectives to the table and will undoubtedly be more creative at finding solutions.
Some women may feel that the idea of celebrating “women in the workplace” is outdated and no longer necessary, while others would argue that we still have a long way to go in achieving equality. But I do think there is value in understanding history and using that knowledge to inform our present and shape our future. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by an incredible team of managers, co-workers, and teammates, both men and women, who promote and encourage growth opportunities equally for anyone, regardless of gender or ethnicity. I’m proud to be part of a company that values diversity, and I consider it a personal responsibility to provide opportunities for advancement to the generations of women who come behind me. There are some segments of the green industry that have historically been male-dominated, and I’m excited to see that more and more women are joining our industry now than ever before.
