October 2022 - 12

duets
BY PETER KONJOIAN, BRIDGET BEHE AND LELA KELLY
Gender Bias in Horticulture
Progress Realized, More Work Ahead
women in the undergraduate programs/courses today
but more of their challenges are in the workplace. I've
had female students asked out on a date during a job
interview. Certainly not a majority, but I do hear stories
from female graduates about inappropriate language
being used and (less often) inappropriate behavior.
At the graduate level, I see more women than I did
Peter Konjoian is president of Konjoian's Horticulture Education Services Inc. His career spans
four decades as a commercial grower, researcher and consultant. Bridget Behe is a professor
in the department of horticulture at Michigan State University. Lela Kelly is the owner of
Dosatron International. Konjoian can be reached at peterkfes@comcast.net.
T
oday's conversation focuses on gender bias in
horticulture. I'm joined by two highly respected
women, Bridget Behe, Ph.D., who is an academic
colleague, and Lela Kelly, a fellow horticulture industry
business owner.
Bridget has earned the rank
of professor at Michigan State
University, where she conducts
horticultural marketing research.
She is a leading voice in this
discipline, a frequent speaker at
conferences and a prolific author.
Lela is the owner of Dosatron
30 years ago when I was in graduate school. The
challenge lies in getting them through the tenure
system with all its demands and wanting to have a
spouse and family. It is hard to get women to persevere
through challenges unique to them (the burden of
childcare still lies with the female) while contending
with demands and a desire to have some modestly high
quality of life AND a rewarding academic career.
Peter: You and I met during the late 1970s as graduate
Diversity is
International based in Clearwater,
Florida. She has spent her career
in horticulture, agriculture and
irrigation. She owned a garden
center and wholesale nursery on
Long Island, New York, in her preDosatron
years. Selling fertilizer
injectors since 1981 has allowed
her to visit greenhouses, nurseries and farms across
North America to connect with growers and
understand their needs.
Peter: Ladies, welcome to Duets, and thank
you for agreeing to discuss this topic. More
accurately, this installment should be titled " Trio. "
Let's begin with each of you sharing experiences
and observations about the state of gender bias
in our industry. Bridget, how is academia doing?
Bridget: Academia is doing a great
job with getting more women into
undergraduate and graduate programs
in horticulture. There are nearly 50%
12 OCTOBER 2022 GPNMAG.COM
being asked to
students at Ohio State. Issues you raise were also present
back then. Congratulations, you have persevered; I know it
wasn't easy. For many men, a good
behavior to practice is to listen more
and speak less. This extends beyond
gender bias, too; race relations and
political relations also need more
listening and less speaking.
the party; inclusion
is being asked
to dance.
Bridget: I get a sense that, for
many men, being a female in their
department isn't an issue. Most
will say, " I don't do that " but
many still do (and just can't see
it). Publishing using only initials
has reduced some of the inherent
bias, but that doesn't get women
into research groups, funding
opportunities and collaborations
where men still wield the bulk of the political and economic
power. Blind reviews help, but often the academic circles are
so small that people recognize who's who.
Even look up the academic ladder to see how few (today
or historically) female horticulture chairs/heads we've seen.
Moving past an inability to see the problem is the start of
the solution. But we must be more deliberate. Diversity is
being asked to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.
Everyone needs to be more cognizant about asking younger/
newer faculty to collaborate on projects, grants, consortia,
boards of directors, etc.
Peter: When you shared that sentiment about diversity
and inclusion with me, it stopped me in my tracks, Bridget.
It's a perfect example of how someone like me needs to

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October 2022

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