A new report aims to increase the consciousness of business leaders and policy makers about the value that women bring to the seafood industry and not to overlook them when making new investments or taking on new projects.
The report by GLOBEFISH, the unit in the FAO Fisheries Department responsible for information on international fish trade, finds that the data available on the complex distribution of gender roles, power and access to resources varies greatly across different regions and industry sectors.
It is made up of desktop research carried out in 2015 which includes six case studies in Croatia, Egypt, France, Iceland, India and Senegal. Where information is available, in both developing and developed countries, there is evidence that women’s participation is constrained or affected by strong cultural rules, robust societal conventions and in some cases, even by discriminatory laws.
The information gathered suggests that the seafood industry is ruled by patriarchy paradigm, where hierarchy, authority, power, competition, development, control of human and natural resources and domination of others is shaped by men.
Women are often barred from some seafood related jobs, such as going to sea on-board fishing vessels. They may be deprived from ownership rights, and thus hindered from running fish farming businesses, or they may not be allowed to access finances and insurances services.
Their presence and participation at decision making levels is even rarer and at top management level they are simply excluded.
The report argues that the widespread lack of consideration for women’s role in the seafood industry is, in many respects, disadvantageous to them and ultimately bars them from fully and equitably participating in the industry.
It suggests that further efforts are needed to promote equality in the industry.
Mercator Media Ltd 2015