I recently attended a fancy black-tie awards event for farmers. During the course of the evening farmers from all over the country received awards for their work. The MC on the night gave a bio on each winner which covered their work and why they were getting the accolade.

Then a woman got an award.

The MC, who up to this point had not mentioned whether any of the farmers were married, opened his comments by mentioning her husband, whom he said she farmed with. Her bio was about what she and her husband did to win.

Well, I was raging. Why was it only when a woman received an award that marital staus was mentioned? She was the farmer who was nominated. Did she not win on the basis of what she did like all the other farmers that night?

During a break I had the opportunity to mention this to the MC. While his initial reaction was ‘well that was what was in my notes’ he did concede I had a fair point. Later, when the final award was announced he did ask the winning farmer to come up with his wife and went on to interview both of them.

Over the course of the night I mentioned this to several people. The majority said they hadn’t noticed it until I pointed it out. And therein lies the problem. Misogyny is defined as an ingrained prejudice against women. It is so ingrained that often we don’t even see or hear it.

Now, this is where a lot of people, men usually, protest that they are not misogynistic. Sure they have great respect for women. I mean they even go to a women doctor!

The next morning I was chatting to a farmer. We happened to know the same vet and he was telling me a story about a cow that had a really difficult calving earlier in the year.

Farmer: ‘‘I had to call the vet and he brought one of the girls with him. It took the two of them to deliver the calf.”

Me: “Oh he brought his daughter with him?”

Farmer: “No it was one of the girls from the practice.”

Me: “Oh, you mean he brought another vet with him. So it took two vets to deliver the calf.”

He looked puzzled, and said, well yes.

The use of the word girl when referring to women is another form of misogyny. Across so many professions women are referred to as girls. I mean have you ever heard someone say ‘the boy in the Teagasc office will send out the form?’

Referring to a woman as a girl minimises her to a child. Be honest, how many times have you said the girl in reception or the girl on the phone?

When I point this out, I usually get the response that women are always saying they are having a girls’ night out. There’s a world of difference between women going out for the night and perhaps acting a bit like teenagers and calling an educated, competent woman a girl. I think we’re even supposed to feel grateful when we are referred to as a great girl.

Many years ago when we were converting the farm to organic we had the ag adviser at the house. After he spoke to John several times, ignoring me, John said: ‘You need to ask Margaret, she’s the one who wrote the plan’.

We have many wonderful farmers who are engaged in on-farm diversification often producing food products. Despite their farming and business expertise, if they are women they are often referred to as the farmer’s wife. Some who farm on their own constantly get asked where the farmer is. She’s standing in front of you.

When I point out misogyny I’m often told they didn’t mean that or that they love women. It is so ingrained we don’t even hear ourselves say it.

We live in a world where millions of people would rather vote for a convicted felon who I believe is a misogynist than vote for a woman.

We all need to do better and work to create a more equal society.