At just 21, Lauren Brockhurst is one of the youngest ringers at Isis Downs Station in outback Queensland, but there's little she can't do. "I love the diversity. Each day you get up, and there's something different to do," she said. She came to the sprawling cattle and goat station from the Sunshine Coast in early 2023, following her father and grandfather's footsteps into the industry. Studying at university or getting a "normal" job was never on the cards. "This is really rewarding." Once considered a man's job, many say the number of women working on stations in Australia is rising -- but it's a different story across the broader agriculture sector. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates the agriculture sector is still largely dominated by men. Women make up just one-third of the industry -- a figure that's stayed the same since 1998. Globally, women only make up 33.5 per cent of meat workers, down 36 per cent, according to the latest Meat Business Women's Gender Representation report. And only 8 per cent of chief executive roles in the industry are held by women, according to the report. Despite this, for the first time in the history of Isis Downs, women currently make up half the stock camp of 14 ringers, taking on the burden of responsibility for day-to-day operations. Anna and Andrew Cochrane have managed the station for the Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC) for seven years. Ms Cochrane said there had been a great sense of empowerment for women in agriculture in the past two decades. "There's nothing that women can't do on a station anymore," she said. Both the head stockperson and weaner supervisor at Isis Downs are women, and each are eying up futures as station managers. Ms Cochrane said the station preferenced personality styles and work ethic over gender quotas but that there were qualities women generally brought to the job over men. "We do a lot of work in the mental health space, and women are probably more able to express their feelings," she said. Days at the sprawling 263,000-hectare station start at 6:00am sharp with breakfast at the homestead, a late start compared to other stations, according to the staff. Muddy shoes line the doorstep of the building, which resembles a school camp at times. By 6:30am, the ringers are out the door and onto the daily chores of feeding poddy animals, processing weaners in the cattle yards or servicing equipment. Piper Smith, a first-year ringer at the station, said it was "awesome" having so many girls around. "They're like your best mates and your sisters," she said Ms Smith, 22, always had an interest in agriculture but never thought she would work in the industry. It wasn't until she took a gap year as a governess on a cattle station that she decided to study agricultural science. "It's very hard work some days," she said. Life working on the land doesn't come without its challenges or stereotypes though. Previously, Kelly Shotton, 26, was used to being the only woman in the trade. She spent more than four years as an electrician, before deciding to try her hand on a station. "I was always wanting to be outdoors ... those office jobs just sent me absolutely crazy," she said. "There's so many different opportunities here that I didn't even know existed." Among the Isis Downs ringers, Ms Shotton said the whole team learnt from each other's skills. "You might be with one of the boys, and they've got the muscle," she said. Ms Brockhurst said when she started ringing, she heard a stereotype that women only came to stations to "wear nice neck scarves and take cute photos". "Because of that comment, I never wore a neck scarf until this year because I didn't want to be part of that stereotype," she said. When it comes to stereotypes, Ms Shotton has a straightforward answer. "At the end of the day, they're either jealous ... it's something they can't do, or they wish they were in the position that you were," she said.
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