North America | Canada | Career

‘Where’s your husband?’: Women in farming still fighting against old boys’ club

Amanda Brodhagen knows a lot of people wouldn't peg her as a farmer. She's young — just 28. She's not tall — just five feet. And she's a woman. But she also knows she's in line to take over her family's farm in southwestern Ontario and become the fifth generation to run an operation that looks after a 100-head herd of beef cattle and grows corn, grain and hay. "A lot of people ask me … 'So why do you farm?'" says Brodhagen, who works part-time on the farm and part-time for the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association.

North America | Canada | Career

Alison Larkin, P.E.I.’s 1st female fire chief: No more ‘boys club’

Source: CBC

At just 27 years old, P.E.I. resident Alison Larkin was already a 10-year veteran of the North Rustico Fire Department and looking for a new challenge. The new mom — her son Garrett is seven months old — had also been a paramedic for seven years, so she knows how to respond quickly to emergencies and doesn't mind the stress. Two months ago, the town appointed her fire chief. "The opportunity came up, and I just took it," said Larkin. "I figured that I could do that. I like people, I can manage people, and that's kind of what my role is now."