In what is typically a male-dominated industry, it can be easy for women who work in groundscare to be glossed over. However, increasing the visibility and profile of these women is more important than ever to encourage others to consider a career in the sector.

A report from Myerscough College, entitled “Here Come the Girls”, examines the lack of female inclusion starting at the entry point into the industry – apprenticeships. “It’s widely reported that females are under-represented across a wide range of Apprenticeship sectors,” it reads. “Within Construction and Engineering for example, only 1 in 19 Apprentices are female.”

Lee Price, Employer Services Manager at Myerscough College, believes that there is room for improvement by making a career in groundscare or greenkeeping more enticing to youngsters through education. “We recruit several hundred apprenticeship positions a year, and from our perspective, each application is assessed on merit regardless of sex,” he says.

“I would say there aren’t a lot of young schoolchildren that show interest in these kinds of careers, so the first step would be to increase the visibility of the industry as whole, and then create role models so that they can see the people occupying the prominent positions.”

Although the IOG reveals that there are but a few female members currently, there is hope that in the New Year there will be a shift towards more inclusivity in the industry. The IOG Young Board of Directors are examining ways to reach out to more women, and a focus on diversity and inclusion is set to be a key focal point for the IOG in 2016.

Have your say

Our feature on Women in Groundscare will be appearing in an issue of Turf Business early in the New Year.

If you would like to be involved, contact Jemima Codrington – @jemima_c or jemima@turfbusiness.co.uk – or look out for the Turf Business TV team at this year’s BTME.