Elisabeth Himmelbauer, organic winemaker, Untermarkersdorf

Has the role of the farmer’s wife changed?

Yes, for sure. For example, today decisions on the farm are made jointly. Of course, there are still farms where the man does it alone – or where the woman does it alone too. But on most farms, men and women now work together. Women are no longer denied any authority, whether it be in wine production or wine tasting. Here I do believe that women have become equal, that is to say that a woman’s judgement is regarded as being of equal value. Aber wenn ich so an meine Großeltern denke, nach außen hin hat immer mein Großvater die Entscheidungen getroffen. Probably it was different internally, but I don’t think seventy years ago the man would have said, „My wife doesn’t want that.“ Outwardly, the man was the decision-maker, never the woman, even if things were different inside the home. My parents were certainly different back then, fifty years ago, and they did much more together. Maybe that was because there was an economic upswing back then, because building up a business was of course always associated with risk. I think it was always better if you shared this risk.
(February 2019)