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p. 11 of 17 BACK | NEXT Purpose of the checklist Why is gender important in agriculture projects? How to use the checklist Gender analysis framework for agriculture Gender analysis for subsectors Gender issues in irrigation Gender issues in fisheries Gender issues in forestry and watershed management Gender issues in coastal zone management Gender issues in integrated rural development Gender issues in microfinance Gender issues in industrial crops and agro-industry Gender issues in livestock

Gender Checklist: Agriculture : Gender analysis for subsectors

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Gender issues in fisheries

Key Issues

• What different activities are carried out by girls and women and by men and boys in fish catching and processing, aquaculture, and marketing? Do women catch or buy fish for processing, or process the catch of male household members?
• What activities are performed jointly by women and men?
• Are there differences in time spent, or seasonal differences for separate or joint activities?
• Will the project affect any of these activities and the level of female involvement or women’s incomes?
• Will the project increase the burden on women’s time? Will this be to their advantage or disadvantage? activities
• Do women work in the fish processing center as wage laborers or are they self-employed (buy fish to process and market)?
• Do women regularly go fishing or is this a seasonal activity?
• Is marketing of fish a regular activity or an extra source of income for the women?
• Do women depend on middlemen to market their fish or do they market it themselves?
• Do women fish sellers have a place and license to sell in the market?
• Do women and men have fishing equipment, such as boats or nets? Do they depend on middle-men or traders for capital and equipment?
• Do women fish sellers depend on private moneylenders/traders for capital or do they have access to formal sources of credit?
• Do women and men fisher folk have enough skills in fishing, as required for sustainable fish harvesting/catching?
• Do women and men fisher folk have rights to common property resources in inland fisheries?
• Do poor women and men have access to the lease of inland fishery resources such as lakes, rivers, or ponds, or is access limited to men?
• Are women involved in pond fishery?
• Will the project activities change the gender division of labor in catching, processing, and marketing fish in marine fisheries and inland fisheries?
• Will the proposed project affect the location of docks or processing facilities? How will this affect women in the sector?

Key Strategies

• Devise ways to make the activities of women and men more efficient in terms of time spent and resources invested, without diminishing women’s participation and control over the activities.
• Include remedial measures to alleviate any adverse impact of the project on women’s and men’s customary activities, on the level of female involvement, or on women’s incomes.
• Consider support for post-harvest activities (often the arena of women) within the project design.
• Develop components that will support both men’s and women’s contribution and involvement in the fisheries sector.
• Ensure that the project reflects and builds on areas of traditional cooperation and reciprocity between men and women.
• If new technologies (e.g., boats, gear types) or skills training are to be provided by the project, ensure that these will be accessible to women.
• Where women and men have “separate purses” and separate financial responsibilities, make provisions to safeguard the normal income sources of women and support new income-earning opportunities for them.
• Provide for the participation of women in cooperatives or other community groups that are formed or supported by the project.
• Design project activities that will not eliminate the traditional fishing rights of women and men fisher folk in marine or inland fisheries, and their income opportunities from fishing.
• If the project activities include commercial fishing, ensure that commercial fishing will not diminish women’s involvement in fish processing and marketing.
• Develop project components that will provide women and men fisher folk with equal access to capital (credit), fishing equipment, and market opportunities.
• Ensure that project activities will not diminish women’s access to and control over income from catching, marketing and processing activities.
• Develop project components that will give women a place in the market, a license to have a permanent place in the market, and a processing facility or dock.
• Devise activities that will provide equal opportunities for women and men to upgrade traditional fishing skills and to learn new skills.
• Develop project activities that will create new income opportunities from fisheries activities in aquatic resources.
• Develop groups/organization of women and men fisher folk to provide them with better negotiating power with traders and middlemen.

The case study in box 6 shows how gender issues were dealt with in a fisheries project in the Philippines.

Nature based eco-tourism

Key Issues

• Does tourism provide a source of income for women through the sale of goods and food? If so, is it a major or an extra source of income for them? What types of activities are involved in the tourist industry in the coastal area?
• Will the project activities relating to tourism eliminate petty trading by women in the coastal area?

Key Strategies

• Ensure that commercial ventures and project activities do not displace women petty traders. Otherwise, ensure alternative income-earning activities for them.
• Develop eco-tourism activities where women can get opportunities for work in wildlife conservation.

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