My name is Charli Appleton. I am a fourth-generation grazier and have lived on cattle stations across Northern and Central Queensland my whole life. In these 16 years of living rurally, I have known and admired many rural women. I know firsthand just how crucial rural women are in their communities, from the running of organisations such as ICPA, raising, and even becoming teachers for their children in geographically isolated areas and adapting to the ever-changing world of agriculture.

One rural woman that I admire in particular is Alana Johnson. Ms Johnson, like many other farming women in the 1970s, refused to become a ‘farmer’s wife.’ Alana instead strived for equality within the agricultural industry and rejected the patronisation of major agribusinesses that assumed, wrongly, that all farmers were men. She stood up to some very big names and proved that agriculture is not just a men’s game. The rural activism displayed by Alana, along with many other women in her generation and generations following, was personal, political and influenced by feminism. It aroused a movement for equality within the agricultural sector. Her courage and resilience showed just how much effect one woman can have on an entire industry.

While not everyone can be expected to, or even want to, have as great an influence on their communities as Alana had, every single rural woman has the potential to be a driving factor in creating change within their own communities, and we don’t have to do it alone. The early leaders and pioneers of the Women in Agriculture movement, including Alana, found local, like-minded women and worked together to create a voice for themselves in a male-dominated industry. We, like rural woman before us, have the ability and the opportunity to not only stand up for ourselves, but also be the instigators of change within our communities and industry.

The role of rural women in driving change in our communities, I believe, is to stand up for our beliefs, stand with each other and strive for the best for ourselves and others, and change will also come with this. Our role is to not only to be great, but to be great together. Our role is to be strong and lift others along with us, to lead by example and never let ourselves be pushed down by others. Our role is to encourage others and never let our voices and opinions be drowned out.