Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel received the perfect gift from her fellow board members to celebrate the birth of her first child.
The portable playpen has proven invaluable because everywhere the president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association goes, baby daughter Claire tags along.
“(The board) knew that this was going to be a challenge for me to continue on with my role,” said Jolly-Nagel.
“I discussed with them early on in my pregnancy that it was important to me to keep the responsibilities that I had.”
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Having a baby in tow hasn’t slowed Jolly-Nagel. Claire, now six months old, was with her at the Farm Progress Show in Regina a week after she was born.
It was the first in a series of Claire’s cameo appearances at board meetings, community events and speaking engagements like last month’s Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities convention.
“She has attended more agricultural meetings than most farmers I know,” said Jolly-Nagel.
The high-energy mom is learning how to juggle board work and family duties. Activities like rocking Claire to sleep in the back of a meeting hall minutes before a speech to 872 SARM delegates are now part of her daily routine.
University of Saskatchewan agricultural economist Murray Fulton, who has studied and worked with many farm organizations, said female directors like Jolly-Nagel face more challenges than their male counterparts in the transition from farm to boardroom.
In addition to having a tougher time integrating work and home life, they often find themselves on the outskirts of a male-dominated arena.
The token woman in a room full of men might struggle to be heard and appreciated.
That is a shame because female directors can bring a fresh perspective to what is often an old-boy’s club.
“They ask difficult questions,” said Fulton.
“But it’s tougher for them to hold the line.”
Their opinions can be lost in the din of a room full of like-minded individuals. And many women find it difficult to play the small “p” politics that are such a big part of boardroom dealings.
“I think some of the women are excluded from the side negotiations,” said Fulton.
Jolly-Nagel said she has experienced some of the discrimination Fulton talks about, although not around the wheat growers’ board table.
“I do feel, at times, that I have to prove myself maybe more so than someone in my position that wasn’t female,” she said.
“There is some skepticism when I come into a meeting that I may not know as much as I claim.”
Now that being a mom is her top priority, Jolly-Nagel worries she may encounter more barriers. She wonders how people will receive a presentation from somebody patting a baby on the back.
“I’ve always hoped that people look at that as proving my dedication to the industry rather than not prioritizing my life,” said Jolly-Nagel.
So far, discrimination has been more the exception than the rule. Around her own board table she has experienced support and respect from her 10 male counterparts.
All bent over backwards to accommodate her, especially during her pregnancy.
“At times I felt like I had 10 other husbands in the room. ‘Are you eating well? Are you sleeping? We can’t have a late conference call because Cherilyn needs her sleep,'” she said.
Jolly-Nagel hopes she can continue juggling board business and family duties because she wants to see the work she did in helping rebuild the association come to fruition.
And she wants to be a role model for other women who follow in her footsteps – maybe even somebody named Claire.
