Rural communities face a unique set of challenges around access to healthcare, transport, employment, education and more in comparison to their metro counterparts. For women, these challenges are often exacerbated.

Despite the hurdles, women of rural Australia are leaving their mark on their communities, their country and across the world.

Charles Sturt University’s own community of inspiring women have shared their journeys ahead of this year’s International Day of Rural Women on Sunday 15 October 2023, demonstrating why the benefits of living in regional Australia far outweigh the pitfalls.

Nature putting on a show

Wagga Wagga-based lecturer in Botany and Plant Physiology in the Charles Sturt School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences Dr Joanne Ashnest has had a taste of city living and life abroad, but wouldn’t change her rural lifestyle for the world.

“Returning home to Australia after many years away has been incredible, especially because we’ve come back to a regional area,” she said.

“Waking up to cockatoos in the backyard, visits from fairy wrens to my office window, last-minute weekend bush walks – these are all elements of a rural lifestyle that I adore and that I missed so much while living away.

“I also love living and working around people who are connected to and interested in the land, and of course I love the safety, peace, and quiet (if you don’t count those cockatoos, which I don’t), the five-minute commute to work, and the general affordability of living in a regional centre.”

Joanne has come full circle, from growing up on a 100-acre property on the outskirts of Armidale, to attending La Trobe University and living in Melbourne for 12 years, and eventually returning to rural life in Wagga Wagga in 2022.

In the middle after completing her PhD, Joanne took an opportunity to work in the small city of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon, Canada, where agriculture was an integral, highly respected and valued part of the community.

“After living in a more regional setting again as an adult, I realised that I didn’t want to go back to living in a large metro area, and we decided that when we did return to Australia it would be to a regional community,” she said.

Despite the serenity and convenience of country living, Joanne soon learned of the challenges to follow.

“For me, the most challenging aspects of regional living revolve around family amenities and career opportunities,” she said.

“Childcare options for my kids have been incredibly hard to navigate, and the places we have found for our children have constant challenges with finding and keeping staff.”

This is a concern which Joanne expects to carry on into their later schooling years.

“I want my kids to attend public schools like I did, but the availability and quality of public schools in the region vary so greatly depending on school district that we might have to opt for a private school,” she said.

“Opportunities for extra-curricular activities for them are also limited and require a bit of coordination of time and travel to make work.”

But the pros outweigh the cons for Joanne, who has found passion in her research focussing on the molecular biology of plant reproduction, from flowering to germination.

“Of course, I do sometimes miss aspects of the city lifestyle; restaurant and café options, theatre, museums, shopping and shows,” she said.

“The energy of the Melbourne CBD or the lights and sounds of Sydney’s Chinatown are pretty great, but so are those aspects I mentioned earlier of the wildlife, safety and comfort.”

Family-friendly living

For Ms Cindy Cassidy, returning to the regions after a taste of city life was an easy decision to make.

As Director of the Southern NSW Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub (the Hub) at Charles Sturt, Cindy is based in Temora and frequents Wagga Wagga, but her roots are anchored in Ariah Park in the Riverina where she was born and raised.

“After finishing my schooling in Temora, near Ariah Park, I lived and worked away from the region for 25 years,” she said.

“I went to University in Sydney before moving to a farm in Scotland, and then back to Australia, living and working in Melbourne.”

But 11 years ago, Cindy made the choice to return home.

“The biggest challenges of living in rural NSW as a woman is access to childcare and being able to be taken seriously in a male-dominated career path,” she said.

Despite knowing these challenges were ahead, Cindy was determined to make the move to raise her daughter in the regions.

“On the flipside to those challenges, living rurally means you have a strong, closeknit network of friends and family, and that support is incredibly worthwhile,” she said.

Since moving back, her career has also benefited. She was appointed to her current role as Director of the Hub in 2021 and remains the Director and member of the Audit Committee for AgriFutures.

Previously, Cindy worked in research and business management at some of Australia’s largest agribusinesses, and was the CEO of a not-for-profit farming systems group, FarmLink Research.

Just two years after returning to Temora, Cindy received the RIRDC (AgriFutures) NSW/ACT Rural Women’s award in 2015, which she used to explore national and international approaches to agricultural innovation and on-farm adoption of change.

Inspiring the next generation

Dr Bec Barnewall has tried and tested multiple rural destinations, from her younger years growing up in Swan Hill, Victoria, to moving to Wangaratta in the Border region and now living and working between Temora and Wagga Wagga, but the verdict remains the same.

“After moving here, I fell in love with Wagga, it has all the amenities and shops you need but still has the country lifestyle and community spirit,” she said.

Bec currently manages the Red Meat Innovation Centre in Wagga Wagga where she leads a team of nearly 30 casual staff members.

Being a woman in leadership in a male-dominated industry has revealed the challenging side to living regionally.

“Particularly being a young woman working in science and agriculture, I sometimes feel that I am spoken down to and my expertise and opinions aren’t taken seriously,” Bec said.

“I also don’t believe women are given as many opportunities as men in the regions, and even less so for women early in their careers like me.”

But it’s this disadvantage which has driven Bec to prove society wrong as she advances in her career.

“I am hopeful that I’m being a good role model for young women in agriculture and science, and I hope that what I am doing now paves the way for more opportunities for women in the future,” she said.

Bec was once in the shoes of those young women starting their studies, who she now inspires to persevere.

“I actually started a Bachelor of Animal Science with Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga in 2013, straight out of high school,” she said.

The country mindset of dusting yourself off and getting back to work reigned true for Bec from the onset of her studies, from overcoming glandular fever which put university on hold for six months in 2014 to being awarded first-class Honours in 2017.

Further health issues in 2018 made for a rocky start to her PhD studies, before moving to Sydney for a required six-month laboratory skill session which soon turned into two years amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was a very isolating time in Sydney for a country girl that had never lived in the city, but I was fortunate that the laboratory where I was doing my research with the NSW DPI Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute was considered an essential service, so I was able to continue my research during COVID,” Bec said.

The jobs which followed were also challenging, proving city life was not the end goal for Bec.

“The head office for two of those jobs were based in Melbourne and I lived out of a suitcase for months on end, so I was over the moon when I got offered a maternity backfill position as Project Manager in AgTech and Biosecurity at the Southern NSW Drought and Innovation Hub,” she said.

From there, Bec commenced her current role in May this year, and was approved to graduate from her PhD in September.

No place like home

For Dr Felicity Harris, a researcher in the Gulbali Institute for Agriculture, Water and Environment and Senior Lecturer, Crop Science, rural living is in her DNA.

“I was born in Darwin, but when I was two years-old, we moved back to my mum’s family farm in Junee where I went to school, then went to high school and university at Charles Sturt nearby in Wagga Wagga,” she said.

“I love it here, my fondest childhood memories are on our family farm with lots of pets and being outside, and one of my favourite things to do is a sneaky weekend crop tour at the farm, even now.”

The agricultural sector is one which has taken the pressure off multiple challenges around rural living for Felicity.

“I have three children, and my husband and I also farm at Junee, so life is busy, but the progressive, inclusive nature of agriculture and science means I can juggle teaching and research with these other commitments, and that we’ve always got something to talk about.”

“It is not always easy, but it is a very rewarding industry to work in. Everyone is supportive and passionate, there are diverse options for career development, and I look forward to continuing to encourage and mentor other young people interested in working in agriculture,” Dr Harris said.

ENDS