English Women and Diverse Genders in Forestry and Landwork
To contact the Women and Diverse Genders in Forestry and Landwork group email:
Keziah and Sasha met at the Woody Branch gathering in May 2022. After having discussions about their personal experiences with gender identity in Forestry, they felt that there might be value in creating a space for others to share their experiences. So they decided to hold a sharing circle for women and diverse genders in the Woodland Area at the Land Skills Fair. This was attended by over 30 people; women, diverse genders and men, and there was a strong desire to stay connected. And so the group was formed.
The group promotes a lens which questions the power structures that exist in society through centering the experiences of women and gender diverse people. While we don’t want to exclude anyone on the basis of gender from joining this group, on occasion, we do hold events and meetings which are exclusively for women and gender diverse people.
While this group was established by people from within the Forestry sector, it does not wish to exclude others who feel that the issues we are addressing are relevant to their sectors of land work. However, our membership has acknowledged the importance of being rooted in Forestry, as the Forestry industry can be particularly difficult to penetrate if one does not possess typically masculine qualities, or if one does not feel comfortable to present in a particularly masculine way.
The group currently has three primary objectives:
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To act as a safe and supportive space for women and gender diverse people within Forestry and land work to build solidarity and community.
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To work towards creating a more positive work culture, particularly within Forestry, by disseminating information and supporting each other to speak up about discrimination they may experience at work.
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To organise events which facilitate the sharing of skills and knowledge in a way which places women and gender diverse people at the centre of sharing. We believe this is an important way to shift the power dynamic in which men hold much of the knowledge in Forestry and in the use of heavy machinery in other land work.