This is part 1 of a 3 part series with John Deere’s Jenny Ose talking about the barriers women face in the work-place, career-building and how women can help each other get ahead in their careers.  Ose spoke at the Advancing Women in Agriculture Conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario in October.

Calgary (Rural Roots Canada) — How can women in agriculture give each other a hand up?

Jenny Ose is the Manager of the Canadian Ag and Turf Sales Organization for John Deere.

She believes there are three things women can do to give each other a hand up.

The first thing is assigning tough assignments and non-traditional roles to women.

“What I have found is giving females the opportunity to go into some of those roles is that haven’t been traditionally filled maybe by a woman or a woman with this background or a woman with this education I have always found that’s provided a really good opportunity of giving a hand-up,” Ose said.

READ MORE: AWCA: Identifying and developing young leaders in agriculture

Ose says giving constructive feedback is also key.

“I always tell my mentees, look I’m not going to give you all the pretty right you are calling me because you want direct feedback, it’s not mean, it’s not harsh, I don’t want to make you cry, it’s just what I have heard from others, it’s what I have observed and I’m trying to help.”

She says mentoring is one of her strengths, which is the third key to helping others.

“In order to give a hand up, you have to be willing to give your time.  Your personal time, your professional time day out of whatever you do besides work you’ve got to be willing to go the extra mile to support women and that is through mentoring and coaching.”

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Ose spoke at the Advancing Women in Agriculture conference in Niagara Falls in October.

For more information on the upcoming Advancing Women in Agriculture conference in Calgary on March 23 & 24 click here.