Challenges of gender equality in family farm ownership: the case of joint farm ownership by married couples in Austria

The aim of this research is to examine the cultural norms and normative expectations that continue to create barriers to women’s ownership of farmland—even in Austria, one of the leading countries in Europe in terms of women’s involvement in farm management—and to suggest possible ways to overcome such barriers. In Austria, most farm management entities are family farms that are passed down patrilineally from generation to generation. As these farms are generally small, Austrian law prohibits, as far as possible, the division of a farm on inheritance. If the heir is married, the couple can jointly inherit the farm. Austrian family farms are mainly jointly owned by married couples who have inherited them. According to semi-structured interviews with fourteen “active female farmers” selected by snowball sampling in Upper and Lower Austria, where the proportion of farms co-owned by married couples is high, wives of successors still face barriers to taking over farms. To become co-owners with their husbands, the wives acquired the professional qualifications necessary to apply for funds to finance investments in the farm and contribute to its management. The husbands of the female heirs, on the other hand, could be co-owners regardless of whether they had agricultural qualifications. Vocational education and training in the agricultural sector that is available to women is expected to be a means of achieving gender equality in the ownership of family farms.