Equal Chances in Forestry, Poland

Forestry needs women! Despite the long-year stereotype of the forester as an exclusively male profession, we observe more and more female forestry students as well as women interested in forests and nature. As a Women in Forestry Association, we aim to integrate and support all of them, encourage professional development, share the experiences and promote female leaders in forestry. Female professionals are still in minority, especially when we look at decision-making positions. Such a situation can lead to many unfavorable phenomena. It is also depressing for women who, without the role models, do not believe in the possibility of their own professional development. The problems described above are not only Polish-specific and occur in forestry on a global scale. In Polish forestry (which are in the majority of state forests) there are no analyzes of employee participation by gender, possible wage inequalities, and the occurrence of discrimination or stereotyping. The EQUAL CHANCES IN FORESTRY project aims to fill the existing information gap and, ultimately, to develop recommendations on equal treatment.