Industries were ranked across four factors – their accommodated workwear options for women, gender pay gap, enhanced maternity pay options and menopause leave.
The gender pay gap for the farming and agriculture industry was almost 24% according to Office of National Statistics data, reportedly six times that of those in the medical sector.
This was despite a 7% growth in the number of women in the sector over the past decade, linked to a change within the industry from labour intensive work to a tech-driven approach.
An analysis of maternity pay offerings found that women working within the farming and agriculture industry may fall short. While female workers were entitled to statutory maternity pay, many claimed it was an ‘unliveable’ income, with 9% of women taking no maternity leave whatsoever due to how little they receive.
Enhanced maternity pay
Just over half of the industries studied by MyWorkwear had some form of enhanced maternity pay in place, such as education and medical.
Menopause leave was also an area in which the farming and agriculture lagged behind other industries. Despite being a recently recognised initiative, half of the industries studied had at least some form of menopause policy and support in place – systems that farming and agriculture professions failed to integrate.
The majority of industries studied, inclusive of the farming and agriculture industry, provided very few female workwear options apart from some such as cleaning and beauty.
Commenting on the study, MyWorkwear commercial director Gayle Parker said in their talks with customers over concerns with female workwear, similar feedback was raised each time.
Workwear criticisms
“Feedback often includes buttons gaping on the chest, either too tight of a fit or too loose, and we sometimes hear that buyers can mistake unisex for women’s fit or simply order a smaller size in a men’s fit,” she explained. “All of these design issues can impact how a woman feels in the workplace and their overall efficiency.
“Female workwear is regularly spoken about at industry events, which have led to improvements from some of our suppliers, but there is still a long way to go. Having spoken to women within male-dominated industries, such as construction and security, some aren’t even aware that female workwear options exist.”
According to industry experts, these blockers for women in the farming and agriculture industries must adapt and improve to attract and retain female talent, not only to be more inclusive, but to further close the skills shortage gap.
Meanwhile, £250bn could be added to UK economy if access to finance for women matched their male counterparts.
UK Export Finance (UKEF) and Female Founder Finance have teamed up to help more women-owned businesses gain access to export finance.
