Secure Fisheries Commits to Inclusivity on International Women’s Day

This year, International Women’s Day highlights women in innovation and promotes innovation that is gender sensitive and inclusive, with the theme “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change.” At Secure Fisheries, we strive toward innovative solutions to mitigate fisheries conflict and to promote sustainability, food and economic security, and community resilience through fisheries. These lofty goals cannot be achieved without gender inclusivity. Secure Fisheries, therefore, mainstreams gender into our programming, but this is a work in progress. We are continually working to better understand the unique roles of Somali women, youth, and other marginalized groups in the fisheries sector, as well as their needs and perspectives. This ensures that our work promotes equality and is able to fulfill our ambitious mission. Read Secure Fisheries’ guide to gender mainstreaming here.

In 2018, we achieved the following:

• Incorporated a gender perspective across the majority of Secure Fisheries’ content. The following reports and blogs focus on women in fisheries:

  • What’s the Catch? Aquaculture and Women’s Economic Empowerment

  • Women in Maritime

  • Photo Essay: Dagaa. Tiny Fish. Major Impact.

  • The Puntland Business Women Umbrella: How a Network of Businesswomen Is Growing the Somali Fishing Sector

  • Angling for Equality: Why Women Are Vital to Maritime Security

  • Celebrating the Role of Women in Fisheries on International Women’s Day

• Interviewed three women’s associations in coastal communities in the Somali region to understand their needs and perspectives so as to inform Secure Fisheries’ work;

• Assessed the role of women in fisheries conflicts through sex-disaggregated data to examine their participation as actors in conflict and the impact of conflict on women's lives;^[1]

• Engaged 34 women from maritime agencies through the Caught Red-Handed workshops;

• Highlighted fisheries development projects and target beneficiaries, including women and youth, in Project Badweyn; and

• Promoted women’s expertise in the maritime space.

Upcoming Work

• Engagement with fishing communities

  • As Secure Fisheries starts to work with fishing cooperatives and to promote co-management, we are incorporating inclusivity to ensure that fisheries management works and works for everyone. This means engaging women’s associations and ensuring women, youth, and marginalized groups benefit from fisheries development.

• Somalia Fisheries Forum

  • Secure Fisheries is hosting the Somalia Fisheries Forum in 2019 to build off the success of the 2017 forum. This year, we will be incorporating sessions and workshops aimed at supporting and enhancing women’s roles in the fisheries sector. And Somali women will have a strong presence at the forum.

• Partnering with women’s associations

  • Somalis best understand gender and empowerment in the Somali region. Secure Fisheries works with local women’s organizations, like the Puntland Business Women Umbrella, to ensure our work supports local women.

Secure Fisheries and the entire One Earth Future Foundation seeks collaborative and innovative solutions to conflict. But innovation must include and serve inclusivity. On this International Women's Day, we are proud to highlight the ways we have integrated diverse perspectives into our work, and we look to the future to “Think Equal, Build Smart, and Innovate for Change."

Do you have questions or lessons to share about gender mainstreaming? Email [email protected].