Gill Naylor grew up watching her Mum be very involved in the rural community through various groups, and she was drawn to the work of Rural Women New Zealand herself while living in Becks, Central Otago, where she has farmed for 38 years with her husband. Gill loved the community service aspect of Rural Women NZ, but also that it was a great connection to the community, with a great group of women, who all have lots of fun together. Her involvement has led her to now be the National President of Rural Women NZ, where her work is focused on sustainable and viable rural communities, which feeds into SDG #11 which seeks to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
The work of Rural Women NZ
Realistically in rural communities, the only way things get done is if volunteers do them, and an awful lot of the time those volunteers are the women, says Gill. Her progression through Rural Women has been the result of opportunties coming up to represent their group at the next level within the organisation.
“…as these opportunities came up, people would say, well, you could do that. And I’d be like, oh, OK. And then it got to the stage that it was an Otago Southland leader, and it was, oh, OK. And then the National Board, there was a few more deep breaths. And oh OK. And then it was the National President. And there was even more deep breaths and some people that I really trust and respect saying that you can do this, it definitely wasn’t a person that was out there. I’m going to be here. I’m going to be there. I was more the quiet one that. That that just it took people to have faith in me for me to believe that I could do It so here I am and I hope I’m doing it well.”
There may be a perception that groups like Rural Women are all about jams and pickles, and having a chat over a coffee, but there is so much work that Rural Women does that many aren’t aware of. As an organisation, Rural Women NZ is all about empowering our women to be at the table, helping to make decisions, and promoting sustainability where they can, both environmentally and economically. The focus is on rural communities, so it is all about the people, and that isn’t industry specific either. Policy and advocacy work is a huge part of what Rural Women NZ do, and they cover a wide range of portfolios such as social inclusion and community, health, education, business, technology, environment, and land use. It is clear that Rural Women NZ are at the forefront of advocating for change and delivering for the needs of rural communities, with connections to key agencies and Government,.
“Technology is huge and there’s some movement there and we keep pushing for more movement because we do appreciate the difficulties and the health space, and everybody will be aware that health is a feeling massive of focus at the moment and we are fortunate to be in contact with the government around the Rural Health Strategy and the Women’s Health Strategy and such a lot of intersectionality between the two. There we have a really vital role to play there in the voice for rural communities and women living rurally and getting access to those services. We have connections with Hauora Taiwhenua which is the Rural Health Network, a non-governmental organisation that brings together all practitioners, all facets of health operating in rural New Zealand. So, we have some really valuable links there. Education, we’re a member of the Rural Education Reference Group, which is a group of organisations that deal in education provision in rural New Zealand, so that’s really important too. So that gives us a link into government as well.”
Rural Women NZ also have connections at the international level, as part of the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) which is an international organisation of women’s groups. ACWW and its associated groups are focused on amplifying the voices of rural women around the world, aiming to see systemic change, and empowering women to be involved in decision making in their own communities – something which aligns well with what Rural Women seeks to do within NZ rural communities. Gill highlights that this is a very challenging task in an awful lot of countries, and we are so fortunate here in New Zealand. Additionally, Gill highlights the connections Rural Women have to the United Nations, allowing discussions to also occur at that level.
Gill’s take on Sustainability
For Gill, sustainability is quite broad, but it is clear that her emphasis on a holistic lens feeds through into her work with Rural Women, as mentioned above.
“Holistically, it’s got to be about the environment, but it’s also got to be about financial viability for everyone, as well as looking after the environment so that it’s still there and continuing to be there for us going forward. But we can’t survive without viable businesses and viable communities.”
When it comes to the SDG that most aligns with her, Gill chooses SDG #4 – Quality Education, which is inclusive, equitable access to learning opportunities for all. For Gill, education is an essential building block to all the other SDG’s.
“If people are educated, and that can be either through just basic learning skills, your literacy and numeracy, your food and nutrition, right through to your expertise in various fields, that just opens the doorways to so many opportunities and solutions that people can meaningfully provide for their communities, and I think that it is where the answers will come. It has to come from educating people really, to get right to all those high-level goals and it gives people an opportunity to make a really meaningful contribution to their communities. And I think that’s what we all strive for really.”
“…it also brings in you’re learning to treat everybody equally to, to have no bias in any particular way, shape or form. That’s about learning equality and treating everyone as individuals and equally, which is really, really important.”
Gill’s take on the biggest challenge regarding sustainability facing the Ag sector
For Gill, a key challenge she sees is the avalanche of regulatory processes that are just becoming overwhelming for many at the moment.
“It’s perhaps it’s disincentivising entry into primary industries and that can actually create its own downward spiral of the industry itself, and it just puts so much pressure on our primary industries workforce is the best advocate for entry into the sector and they’re taking a hammering at the moment, so they’re not going out saying ‘This is a great place to be and work’ I think that downward spiral is starting and I think we need to try and turn that around.”
When it comes to turning it around, and finding the opportunity amongst from the challenges, Gill acknowledges that there are many embracing the innovation, research and learning opportunities out there, and that they are ready to meet these challenges they’re being faced with a positive mindset.
“We are part of the New Zealand Landcare Trust and catchment groups are a great example of the groups of landowners getting together to work towards more sustainable outcomes for the environment and but that also needs to be viable financially for their farming business. And discussion groups and industry-led seminars, it’s another tool just to embrace those learning opportunities that come your way and be ready to adapt and looking for opportunities to make the most of improving your farm business. It’s not to say that it’s bad at the moment, but if there are ways that it can be improved, then why not look at them? And if there’s good science behind it then go for it.”
The pressures on rural communities are large right now, and Gill emphasises that we need to build support networks around these communities too, in order to get through it together.
“We really need to build those support networks around several communities at the moment too, because those pressures are massive and so many are just shutting down because it’s just too hard and it’s we need to turn that around somehow and have the resourcing to support turning that around. And perhaps it’s about rephrasing how things need to change so that people can actually be empowered to make those changes rather than feel that they just have to do it, which turns it almost into a chore rather than incentive to do it.”
When it comes to her take home tip, Gill left us with a concise tip that encompasses much of the conversation for this podcast episode:
“Embrace learning opportunities, encourage continuing research and be willing to adapt to more sustainable working practices. Just it’s that whole education piece again and being ready to adapt and embrace.”
Listen to Gill’s podcast episode here: