THE theme for International Women’s Day 2022 is #breakthebias and Oz Group is taking the opportunity to celebrate the role that women play in horticulture both through their grower base and in the packhouse as well.

Production Supervisor Sussan Marshall, herself celebrating 16 years with Oz Group said, “This week is an opportunity to celebrate and showcase the role that women play in our cooperative.”

“The role of women in horticulture has long been one of partnership, supporting their husbands or partners in their farms, and we have some wonderful examples of women breaking that bias and excelling on their own terms both on the farm and in business management.”

Oz Group’s most recent gender diversity reports shows that 44 percent of the staff employed are female, which management say reflects Oz Group’s commitment to breaking the bias.

Melissa Eichmann, Human Resources Manager at Oz Group said, “We are actively attracting more women to our packhouse, and we have seen a lot more women this last season than previous seasons due to initiatives such as flexible working conditions.

“Our packhouse supervisors and team leaders team consists of twelve women and one man and our senior management team at Oz Group is 50 percent female.”

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Satpal Singh Gill, said, “I am proud to say we have an awesome team of women that are the heartbeat of our cooperative.

“I appreciate the effort they put in day in, day out.”