The underrepresentation of women in agriculture has manifested itself in Iowa State’s agronomy department.

Only 31 percent of undergraduate students majoring in agronomy are women. The Women in Agronomy group is attempting to close the gap for female students.

Jennifer Jensen, senior in environmental science and a part of Women in Agronomy, said that there is a highly noticeable gender gap in her classes.

However, the department is seeing an increase in the number of women it is recruiting. This could be due to the “I’m an Agronomist” marketing campaign. The slogan known around the nation and other universities even contact Iowa State to ask about it, said Stephanie Zumbach, undergraduate coordinator for the Department of Agronomy.

Zumbach works with events and campus visits for prospective students. She is also the adviser for the Women in Agronomy group.

The marketing strategy is designed to help students and prospective students see themselves in agronomy, Zumbach said.

“I’m an Agronomist” uses a wide variety of students who are actively involved in student life and who will represent the department well. Zumbach said that they try hard to include an equal number of female students to male students.

Making sure there are enough women represented in “I’m an Agronomist” is a key point in recruiting new female students. The prospective students can see that Iowa State’s agronomy major contains different types of students.

Along with displaying the female students, demonstrating they are successful is also a major strategy in this marketing campaign. The students featured in it share their stories on imanagronomist.net. Through the website, prospective students can get to know what an agronomy student’s life is like and put themselves in their shoes.

The efforts to reduce the gender gap in the major do not stop at recruitment of women. They also take pains to retain the female agronomy students. A large part of the effort includes Women in Agronomy.

“It’s not just getting them here, you have to retain them as well,” Zumbach said.

The Department of Agronomy has seen an increase in the amount women staying agronomy. The 31 percent of female undergraduate students majoring in agronomy is the most the department has ever had, Zumbach said.

The group holds a variety of events that mostly consist of speakers and field trips. The speakers are female ISU agronomy alumni who are successful in the agronomy field.

“It shows how women have used their agronomy majors because there are so many opportunities in the agronomy field,” Jensen said.

The field trips offer insight into these different parts of the agronomy field. For example, the club has been to farms, research facilities and even got to tour the World Food Prize building, Zumbach said.

There are a wide variety of career options available with an agronomy degree and the field trips help the members of Women in Agronomy see them in action.

“Having the different women in different professions in agronomy really shows what kind of different jobs there are,” said Taylor O’Bryan, senior in agronomy.

The group acts as a sneak peak of what it is like in the real world for women in the agriculture industry. The participants of Women in Agronomy are able to see the different ways they could become successful with their agronomy degree, despite the gender gap that exists in agriculture.

“I think it’s really great that we have the department support and we realize this is an issue that we have,” Zumbach said. 

According to the USDA Ag Census, women made up only 13.7 percent of principal farmers in 2012. Women do play a more active role in secondary farming, which usually means that they are involved in the decision making because they are the spouse of the principal farmer.

Farming is just one aspect of agronomic careers, but it demonstrates how women are outnumbered in the industry as a whole.

“I do tell gals that sometimes you have to prove yourself, but after you show that you know what you’re talking about then there is a more equal balance,” Zumbach said.

As more women enter Iowa State’s agronomy program and eventually the agriculture industry, this issue may dissolve. Until then, the Department of Agronomy will work to recruit and retain female students to balance the industry.