How many women are there in the apiculture industry? What are the barriers to entry for
women, and what are the reasons they leave apiculture? Those are some of the questions Sol Tejada wants to answer, but she will need to make contact with women in New Zealand beekeeping and the wider industry.
The Comvita beekeeper, based out of Te Awamutu, is conducting surveys of women in apiculture as part of her Kellogg Rural Leadership training through Lincoln University.
“I am a beekeeper and I would like to have more women beekeepers in our branch,” Tejada says.
“How can we help women in the industry to stay in the industry and how do we attract more women to beekeeping?”
She is conducting a series of phone interviews with women in apiculture from all around the country, but needs as many participants as possible by April 17, before moving to the next stage of her studies.
“It is not just about beekeepers either. It would be good to know what happens when women try to climb the ladder, if there are chances to grow,” Tejada says.
She is four years into a commercial beekeeping career, and before that has kept hobby hives since 2003.
Women beekeepers are invited to contact Sol Tejada via:
email: soledad.tejada@gmail.com or connect on the Women Beekeepers in NZ Facebook group.
