Gender and Fisheries

The world is just recognizing the power of women to change the face of poverty.

In September 2000 the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 55/2 the United Nations Millennium Declaration in which they resolved (III/20):

“To promote gender equality and the empowerment of women as effective ways to combat poverty, hunger and disease and to stimulate development that is truly sustainable.”

Stemming from this resolution, the stated aim of Millennium Development Goal 3 is to promote gender equality and empower women. The measurable target set for this objective is that of eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015. Although education is a powerful starting point it is imperative to reduce inequalities more broadly by offering greater access to employment, job security and social protection.

The burdens of poverty and discrimination are disproportionately carried by women. In many parts of the world women play dual roles as mothers and primary economic providers for their families; in developing countries there are often more women than men engaged in agricultural labor. Data from the International Fund for Agricultural Development indicates that agricultural yields would increase by 10-20% if women had the same access to resources and inputs as men. Moreover, women invest 90% of their income back into their families, compared to 35% for men. Clearly women are at the forefront of ending poverty.

However women are often marginalized in terms of social influence and decision-making, and lack equal opportunities to education. It is still true that girls and children from poorer or rural families are the least likely to attend school. Women also carry the extra health risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth and due to lower social status in many countries make up the majority of young people newly infected by HIV/AIDS.

Women play a key role in fisheries, particularly in developing countries. They are the dominant actors in fish processing and local trade, and many are involved in small-scale aquaculture operations. Many of the poorest families in rural communities are headed by women. Safeguarding their continued access to fish for food and income has a direct bearing on the well-being of their families.

The WorldFish Response

A guiding principle for all WorldFish projects is a focus on gender equality, and because so many poor families in developing countries are headed by women, WorldFish designs its programs with the particular needs of women in mind.

The Center’s “pond aquaculture” has proved to be a highly effective avenue to social and economic empowerment for many poor rural women because the techniques can be practiced close to home at relatively low cost. In Bangladesh, women now make up about 60% of all fish farmers, a number of them highly successful entrepreneurs.

WorldFish’s program on integrated agriculture-aquaculture (IAA) developed in Malawi has proven to be a highly successful model for improving the livelihoods and incomes of rural farmers, often headed by widows and orphans due to the impacts of HIV/AIDS on the population.

WorldFish programs also empower women by promoting their involvement in community-based management of fisheries. In Bangladesh, women’s collectives have played a central role in implementing conservation measures that increased fish abundance and diversity in local waters.

Founded by members of the Asian Fisheries Society with the WorldFish Center as a partner, the Gender and Fisheries Network provides a platform for information sharing and collaborative research among scientists, development and extension workers and managers.

Click here for more details on the Gender and Fisheries Network

Visit our library for WorldFish Center publications on gender and fisheries