Women\u2019s empowerment, collective actions, and sustainable fisheries: lessons from Mexico

Abstract

Collective action is recognized as a key element to successfully implementing sustainable fisheries. Nevertheless, gender equality, as an essential component in such actions, is often missing. In fisheries, women’s contributions are regularly invisible and remain unrepresented in statistics. In this paper, we examine the current status of women in Mexican fisheries based on governmental reports and programs, as well as five case studies from small-scale fishing communities. In practice, the government’s attempts at increasing participation and leadership of women in fisheries have been varied. This article documents how women’s roles are changing when collective actions are implemented to increase fisheries sustainability. Women as cooperative leaders, collaborative decision-makers, and entrepreneurs have become active promoters of good practices, including (1) fishery and ecosystem restoration, (2) environmental monitoring, and (3) marine conservation. Through these actions, women are also empowered in different ways. They have acquired resources (e.g., knowledge, opportunities) and decision-making power, facilitating project developments (e.g., research, cooperatives) that promote fisheries sustainability. Here, we highlight elements that contribute toward empowering women in small-scale fisheries in these five contexts, with applicability elsewhere. These elements include access to role models, such as female scientists leading environmental monitoring; the support of civil society organizations; and a willingness, by men and women, to learn and change the status quo.