Seaweed aquaculture through the lens of gender: Participation, roles, pay and empowerment in Bantayan, Philippines

Mengo, Elena, Grilli, Gaetano ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1376-167X, Murray, Joanna M., Capuzzo, Elisa, Eisma-Osorio, Rose-Liza, Fronkova, Lenka, Etcuban, Jonathan O., Ferrater-Gimena, Judy Ann and Tan, Annie (2023) Seaweed aquaculture through the lens of gender: Participation, roles, pay and empowerment in Bantayan, Philippines. Journal of Rural Studies, 100. ISSN 0743-0167

Preview

PDF (1-s2.0-S0743016723000918-main) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food-producing sectors worldwide. Of particular importance is the cultivation of seaweed, particularly in East and Southeast Asia where seaweeds dominate the production market, and are key for coastal communities both as main livelihood source and as alternative or supplementary income to fisheries. Women play a crucial role in various segments of the seaweed aquaculture value chain; yet few researchers have empirically examined the gendered impacts of women’s participation in aquaculture. Using the case study of Bantayan Island, in the Philippines, the objective of this study is to deepen our understanding of the impact of women’s participation in aquaculture by specifically investigating their roles, remuneration and empowerment related to the production node of seaweed aquaculture. Adopting a novel research approach, which combines the outcomes of a focus group discussion and the data collected through two questionnaires, we provide a comprehensive and robust understanding of gender issues in aquaculture. Results of the economic analysis of labour costs indicate that women constitute most of the workforce but are paid less than men; the average gender pay gap is 55.4%. Moreover, our study finds that there is a well-established gendered division of labour in seaweed aquaculture. Greater female participation is not mirrored by more women in leadership roles and decision-making power in the workplace, although participation may have a positive impact on female intrahousehold empowerment. An important contribution of our analysis is to show that gender stereotypes in aquaculture production persist and they affect roles, wages and decision-making power. Acknowledging the fundamental contribution of women in aquaculture can inform the development of gender-sensitive indicators, supporting the measurement of progress towards relevant Targets of the fifth Sustainable Development Goal (“ Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls ”), therefore mainstreaming gender into resource management, and poverty alleviation

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	sdg 1 - no poverty,sdg 5 - gender equality,sdg 10 - reduced inequalities,sdg 14 - life below water ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/no_poverty
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Norwich Business School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE)
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	28 Oct 2023 01:23
Last Modified:	09 Mar 2024 14:31
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/93501
DOI:	10.1016/j.jrurstud.2023.103025

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item