By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
Jen Christie’s passion for agriculture, education and community make her a worthy recipient of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women award.
Christie, Territory Manager for John Deere Canada, has been named one of The Women’s Executive Network’s (WXN) Most Powerful Women, in the Telus Future Leaders category.
“It’s incredibly honouring and humbling to be among such an established and elite group of women,” said Jennifer Christie.
Among the 100 winners chosen, two women are in agri-business; Christie and Leslie O’Donoghue, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development and Strategy and Chief Risk Officer, Agrium Inc.
Founded by Pamela Jeffery, the annual award is considered the premier award for women in business in Canada. The award recognizes the achievements of women in business and provides a platform for women to network and support each other in the business world.
The prestige of the award grows every year, which is evident by the leadership summit and gala attendance. The first year the award was given out, 400 people attended; this year there were more than 1,200 people, a sold out dinner and a waiting list. “It’s really taken off,” said Christie.
Christie is credited for her involvement in youth organizations, such as 4-H where she serves as a Director of 4-H Canada. This past summer she was a mentor for a Global Youth Ag Summit, held in Calgary, AB, where 120 youth from around the world gathered to tackle the topic of how to feed a hungry planet.
In addition to 4-H, Christie has been instrumental in advancing opportunities for women in agriculture. She recently established a women’s agri-business network in Southern Ontario, and is co-founder of the Canadian Agri-Business Education Foundation.
Christie’s rural roots run deep, having grown up on a farm in Bruce County and attending the University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce. Her education hasn’t stopped there. In addition to working full time and participating in her long list of extra circular activities, Christie is working on completing her MBA at the Ivey School of Business in London, Ont.
“I’m certain that all of those extra circular activities are what helped me win the award,” explains Christie.
Recognizing Christie’s achievements, one of her classmates at Ivey nominated her for the award. “She suggested that I’d be a great candidate and offered to nominate me,” said Christie. In addition to the nomination form, Christie had to also secure two letters of reference.
She received the good news in the form of a letter in July, and has had to keep the news secret for about six months. “I was shocked,” said Christie. “It seems surreal to win an award for something that you love to do,” she said.
Winners were honoured at the annual leadership summit and gala held in Toronto, Dec. 4. The theme for the event was called “What Glass Ceiling?” The event put a spotlight on the often invisible barriers which prevent women from rising into senior level positions in the workforce, coined as the glass ceiling effect. Christie called the event inspiring, noting that the speakers are examples of “trailblazers” in their field, she said.
Christie was asked about what she thought were the barriers facing women in agriculture, and she identified two categories – external and internal barriers. In this case, internal refers to personal barriers, while external lies within workplaces or groups and associations.
Internal Barriers
Sometimes the barriers come down to how a person perceives oneself.
“There is the personal side of it…believing that we can do it and figuring out how to do it,” said Christie. “You can have it all…but be willing to compromise sometimes on perfection.”
External Barriers
Then there are the inevitable barriers found in the workplace and business.
“We have some perceptions in the industry that women maybe aren’t as strong or tough enough to be leaders,” said Christie. “Agriculture has traditionally been a male dominated industry. Women have always been critical in that we’ve always been involved in the industry…but there aren’t a lot of women in leadership roles and sitting on boards in agriculture,” explains Christie.
What can employers and agricultural organizations do to address these barriers?
“It’s going to come down to flexibility, more flexible employers and more flexible associations,” explains Christie. Examples include: “willing to leverage technology more…change or adapt structures to get more young people involved, but especially more women.”
While Christie admits that John Deere, like many other agri-business companies, still have work to do in making a friendlier workplace environment for women. She touts John Deere’s strong volunteerism and community involvement mandate, which she says has allowed her to commit more time to organizations such as 4-H.
Christie’s advice for young women in agriculture is to - network. “Have a goal in mind, write it down and decide what you need to do in order to get there,” said Christie. “Nobody’s going to look out for you and your career but yourself…you need to ask and volunteer for opportunities,” she said. “I want to see more young women be successful and have opportunities in the [agricultural] industry.”
What’s next for Christie?
Christie plans to complete her MBA at the Ivey School of Business in February 2014, and is eager to put more time and energy into the women’s agri-business network and 4-H. Career wise, she says she is unsure, but notes there are endless opportunities with her current employer, John Deere Canada.
“There is so much going on in agriculture throughout the world and so much demand for people who are keen, smart and willing to learn…I’m looking at it as the future is mine,” said Christie.