In light of international women’s day we felt it fitting to share some of the inspiring women we admire. The 2024 theme of international women’s day (internationalwomensday.com) is to inspire inclusion. By celebrating women’s achievements, we can work towards creating a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. The women and businesses we are sharing below all work towards creating an inclusive environment in a traditionally male dominated sector.
Agriculture has been largely dominated by male workers according to Census data. However, women represent an increasing proportion of the agricultural workforce, and the nature of the family farm is that women make significant yet often unrecognised paid and unpaid contributions to agricultural businesses and communities (Alston, Clarke & Whittenbury 2018; Ressia et al. 2022). At Bralca we are proud to promote an inclusive workplace and networking opportunities to share ideas and create innovative solutions.
Below are some of the women within our networks we would like to celebrate on international women’s day:
Central West Inspired Women brings together local women in business, industry and local government to ‘connect for success’ – learning from guest speakers and each other in an environment that fosters positivity, connection, inclusiveness and growth in line with four key themes; Connect, Inspire, Learn, Share.
In 2023 Keiley Noble founded ‘The Western Rural Connect’. The Western Rural Connect is an organisation that’s mission is to encourage and enhance social connections within small and rural communities and industries alike, by creating events and facilitating networking opportunities that bring together people who live in, work in and love Western NSW.
CWYA is providing networking and educational opportunities for “young aggies” throughout Central West NSW. With plenty of opportunities for young women to jump into industry this is the perfect place to meet like minded individuals.
The catch up is a community celebrating regional women of the central west by Grace Ryan. We spotted Brooke in the line up of ‘celebrating regional women’ in December 2023.
The cowgirl channel is a podcast by Bella Hanson and Tony Leigh with new episodes every Friday. We loved their recent episode touching on drinking culture within the agricultural industry.
@annemareephotography is a western QLD photographer, capturing outback moments which regularly provide inspiration to find the beauty in the little things.
Looking for workwear? Antola Trading offers the shirts you’ve always wanted, with the features you’ve always needed. Owned & designed in outback Australia.
Brooklyn is a hawkesbury based photographer specialising in photography and videography for the rodeo and western industry. She creates a positive online community promoting discussion and collaboration.
Some of the women we admire
We are lucky enough to be surrounded by incredible women so we are sure we have missed some. Feel free to share with us the women you admire. ❤️
Sarah Caslick is based at Willow Tree NSW while working at Inglewood Wallabadah Pastoral. She is a driven, kind young woman who is an inspiration to young women stepping into industry and regularly assists the Bralca team as she has a passion for promoting careers in agriculture. Sarah recently represented Quirindi Show Society as their Young Woman, has a passion for camp drafting and has been involved with the Classic Ladies Foundation Young Ambassadors Program. We’re incredibly proud of you Sarah, keep reaching for the stars. Ali HIll is the alumni relations officer with Charles Sturt University. Based in Bathurst, she is dedicated to providing ongoing networking and opportunities for CSU alumni. She is the guru of good vibes and celebrating the achievements of women around her.Rachel Chippendale is the communications and engagement manager with RDA Central West and is continually supporting projects throughout Central West NSW. Rachel’s impeccable organisation skills see seamless events being rolled out while ensuring she is supporting locally communities. Paris Capell is a passionate young agricultural professional dedicated to shaping the future of sustainable farming. Paris's journey into agriculture began as a fascination with the effects of drought and flood on the land. After studying environmental science and then a Masters of Science in Agricultural Innovation at ANU, Paris first returned home to work at a carbon farming start-up, Loam Bio. Paris now works at NSW DPI, assessing what crops and livestock will be most vulnerable to climate change and modelling what climate change adaptations will be effective. Paris is actively involved in her community, including supporting Bralca’s youth events and Central West Young Aggies. Keiley Noble is a young agribusiness professional based in Central West NSW. Named as the R.M. Williams RAS Rural Achiever Award Winner. This is a state-wide leadership program run by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW to recognise future young leaders (20-29 years of age) who are working hard to make a significant contribution to their community and to rural Australia.Fiona Watts works away behind the scenes of Bralca to ensure our company has strategic direction and is presented with our best foot forward for our end users to receive a positive experience. Fiona has a passion for business practices and brings a driven approach to Bralca with innovative ideas and creativity. Jorgia Scott is a stud stock administration officer with Nutrien at Dubbo. With a passion for beef Jorjia has an exciting role travelling across the Central West supporting growers and processing private & stud sales. Jorjia is an inspiration to women in agriculture as she is defying stereotypes and moving through the ranks. Anne Earney is the master of 'give it a go'. She throws herself into events within her community and is a huge supporter of the next generation of young farmers through programs like the Schools wether challenge that sees over 500 young people learning more about sheep and wool every year.Jessica Hickman, also known as the Upstanding Leader is the founder of bullyology, leading change within workplace culture practices. Jess is a speaker, educator, coach and consultant, with a focus on empowering others to own their ability to speak out and in turn become champions of change. Grace Pearce grew up on a property just outside of Mudgee NSW. Grace has always had a passion for agriculture and making a difference, especially as a young woman. She is now a qualified artificial insemination technician who owns and operates ACE Genetics. Elizabeth Argue's love for life on the land and supporting the people in rural communities led her to study a Bachelor of Agriculture and Business, majoring in Marketing at the University of New England. From this foundation Elizabeth has worked across a range of sectors including on a large cattle property in Queensland, across the corporate marketing sector, for a rural women’s start-up offering digital marketing and event services to agribusinesses in regional NSW, and is now pursing a career in teaching. Elizabeth is an advocate for enhancing sustainability in primary industries and empowering women in agriculture and is grateful for the opportunity to be able to create and share narratives to inspire, uplift and sustain positive development in rural and regional communities. Elizabeths dedication to local community group Central West Young Aggies should be commended. Brooke Watts is in her second year back with the Bralca team and has stepped into the role of operations manager going off like a fire cracker. Brooke currently leads our youth programs, including coordinating the NSW School Merino Wether Challenge with 70 schools spread across the state. Brooke ensures our day to day operations and logistics are well managed to ensure we can service our clients with our best foot forward. Celia Cummack grew up in NZ and fell in love with the agricultural lifestyle. She dabbled in a range of jobs in the NZ farming sector from cropping to feedlot operations, but her true passion was found when she started working with merino studs. She was formerly a trainee livestock agent in Cooma for Schofield Livestock and Property has been the Central West District Wool Manager for Elders, and has now relocated to QLD to continue her career with Elders. Caitlyn Watts relocated to the central coast to complete her university studies doing a Bachelor of Food Science and Human Nutrition and a Bachelor of Business (majoring in Leadership and Management), and has since returned to Molong NSW to pursue her career with Cauldron Ferm. She is now working with a team focusing on unlocking the potential to meet global food and fibre production requirements through “fermafacturing”, and industrial fermentation process. Bree Bourke At just 18 years old Bree has a strong passion for agriculture, and is strongly immersed in the Ag Shows movement with a passion for showing cattle and has just recently started her studies at CSU in Wagga Wagga studying a Bachelor of Animal Science. You will regularly find Bree at bralca events, we can’t thank you enough for your ongoing support. Alyssa Watts has certainly jumped into her career with nothing holding her back. Leaving home at 17 to pursue working on stations in QLD for 12 months, she then relocated to Bathurst NSW to complete her traineeship and then took a leap of faith moving to far west NSW at North Bourke to assist in running 70,000 acres of livestock operations. Now 18 months into the role Alyssa continues to thrive and has a passion for increasing awareness of women in regional areas and promoting careers in agriculture with the Bralca team. Bethany Simmons As a vet nurse based in Bathurst NSW, we are lucky enough to have Beth on the Bralca team assisting with our ultrasonography training. Beth is a driven young soul with a passion for livestock and has recently kicked off her own business at BS Livestock Scanning. With a strong work ethic and a kind soul, beth has the world at her feet. Amy Van De Van is a business owner at Guest Orange and is commonly known for her fierce drive, determination and strong work ethic. Amy is actively involved in many networks within Central West NSW and is an inspiration to young women pursuing a career in business.
