GENDER EQUALITY & SOCIAL INCLUSION ANALYSIS IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION
Sustainable Fish Asia Technical Support
USAID Sustainable Fish Asia Technical Support Activity
Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Analysis
GSA OASIS Contract GS00Q14OADU138 (Pool 1)
Task Order No. 72048622N00001
Contract/Agreement Period: 24 November 2021 to 23 November 2025
COR Name:
Craig Kirkpatrick, Ph.D.
Regional Wildlife Conservation Advisor
USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia
Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: +66 2 257 3288
Email: crkirkpatrick@usaid.gov
Submitted by:
John Parks, Chief of Party
Sustainable Fish Asia Technical Support (SuFiA TS)
Tetra Tech ARD
159 Bank Street, Suite 300
Burlington, VT 05401
Tel: +1 802 658 3890
Email: John.Parks@tetratech.com
Prepared by:
Jasmin Mohd Saad
Gender, Youth, and Social Inclusion Specialist
Sustainable Fish Asia Technical Support (SuFiA TS)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Email: jasmin@oceanresearch.biz
This report is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of Tetra Tech and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
GENDER EQUALITY & SOCIAL INCLUSION ANALYSIS IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction WOMEN IN FISHERIES: WHERE IS THE DATA?
Background PLACING A FOCUS ON THE ROLE OF WOMEN
Methodology A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS
ENDNOTES Annexes LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS RATIFICATION STATUS REFERENCES 4 5 7 6 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 19/20 18 9 21
First Domain Analysis LAWS, POLICIES, REGULATIONS, AND INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICES
Second Domain Analysis CULTURAL NORMS AND BELIEFS
Third Domain Analysis GENDER ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND TIME USES
Fourth Domain Analysis ACCESS TO AND CONTROL OVER ASSETS AND RESOURCES
Fifth Domain Analysis PATTERNS OF POWER AND DECISION-MAKING
General Recommendations MORE DATA, MORE TRAINING, MORE RESEARCH
Conclusion AN EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE FUTURE
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
ADB Asian Development Bank
APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations
CEDAW 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
eCDT Electronic Catch Documentation and Traceability
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
GBV Gender-Based Violence
GDST Global Dialogue for Seafood Traceability
GESI Gender Equality and Social Inclusion
GIDAP Gender and Inclusive Development Action Plan
ICMW International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families
IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development
IIU Ignored, Invisible, and Unrecognized
ILO International Labor Organization
IOM International Organization for Migration
ITAP International Technical Assistance Program (U.S.)
IUU Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated
M&E Monitoring & Evaluation
MEL Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
NGO Non-governmental organization
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (U.S.)
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
PRC People’s Republic of China
PSE Private Sector Engagement
RDMA Regional Development Mission for Asia
RPOA Regional Plan of Action
SDG Sustainable Development Goal
SEAFDEC Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center
SSF Small-Scale Fisheries
SSF Guidelines Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication
SuFiA Sustainable Fish Asia
TS Technical Support
UN United Nations
U.S. United States
USAID
United States Agency for International Development
USAID Oceans USAID Oceans and Fisheries Partnership Project
USG United States Government
WLF Women Leaders’ Forum
WSI Women in the Seafood Industry
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In recent years, both the quantity and quality of gender assessments and research and awareness of gender equality issues have increased in the Indo-Pacific region. Governments and stakeholders hve sharpened the focus on research and improving the understanding of the impacts of equality issues on fishers, migrant workers, stateless fishers, supply chains, and fishing families and communities. Given the COVID-19 pandemic and erratic and intense weather events due to climate change, fishery stakeholders are increasingly supporting research to examine and depict the adaptive capacity of fishers.
The Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Analysis of the Sustainable Fish Asia Technical Support (SuFiA TS) aims to address pressing gender and social inclusion issues and constraints within the Indo-Pacific region and specify how proposed interventions will affect not only women, but also youth, persons with disabilities, and marginalized social groups. The area of implementation covers all Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF). This analysis is the result of a robust literature review and the findings from discussions conducted with key informants in January and February 2022
Improving access to data
The SuFiA TS GESI Analysis has identified a fundamental obstacle facing the strategic and evidence-based incorporation of GESI-related considerations within Indo-Pacific regional fisheries management and decision making: the lack of readily available and relevant genderdisaggregated data covering the issues, gaps, and status related to men, women, youth, and traditional disadvantaged or marginalized communities in regional fisheries. During discussions, key informants consistently referred to the absence of sufficient gender-related data within regional fisheries management, particularly relating to smallscale, subsistence, stateless, and migrant fishers, and other laborers in international seafood supply chains. There is an immediate need to undertake field research and primary data collection on small-scale and subsistence fishers and disadvantaged groups such as migrant and
stateless fishers. The GESI Analysis recommends fostering partnerships with regional organizations and potential implementing partners in collecting primary data.
Gender-disaggregated data is important, but alone, it is insufficient to provide a wider understanding and appreciation of women equality issues. The lack of gender-disaggregated data is not unique to the IndoPacific. A report to the UN Secretary General on Gender Statistics in 2013 revealed that 80 percent of the indicators for gender equality across the SDGs are lacking data. The same report revealed that only 15 percent of countries have legislation that mandates specialized genderbased surveys and only 13 percent of countries have a dedicated gender statistics budget.
Consolidating political will
In the region, Thailand is the only country that has ratified the 2007 ILO Work in Fishing Convention 188 (ILO C188). The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (ICMW) has been ratified by Indonesia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste, with Cambodia as a signatory member. Neither of these important international legal instruments are obligatory for most countries, and their absence puts the region at risk of aggravating the circumstances of forced labor and migrant fishers. Strategic partnerships are critical to harmonize regional regulations with national laws and policies, raise awareness, and improve communications and outreach. The GESI Analysis recommends working with partnering countries towards the ratification of the ILO C188 and ICMW as critical to ensure that the human rights of forced labor and migrants are addressed.
Additional recommendations include seeking opportunities to provide education for and develop women leaders. The GESI Analysis finds that gender stereotyping is still strong and invariably shapes the behaviors and norms around women’s contributions to the sector, which are undervalued and unrecognized. According to cultural norms and beliefs, men focus on production, i.e., the harvesting segment of the value chain, while women focus on processing and marketing. Gender stereotypes
influence these roles, responsibilities, and affect how much time women can use to rest or participate in their communities. The same pattern is seen in the access to and control over assets and resources, where men typically own small-scale fishing operations and enjoy access to financial services and profitable markets.
The findings and recommendations of the GESI Analysis align with the objectives of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy, such as by enhancing regional resilience to transnational threats such as IUU fishing and climate change. USAID and development partners have made significant investments and spent time and effort in addressing IUU fishing in the region should include the promotion and systematic integration of women and other marginalized or vulnerable groups into regional fisheries policy and management decision-making. Women, after all, represent half of the world’s seafood workers.
The findings from this GESI Analysis will be used to inform the development of a Gender and Inclusive Development Action Plan (GIDAP) for SuFiA TS, an actionable roadmap to empower and respect the rights of men and women working in the marine fisheries capture industry across the region. The finalized GESI Analysis and GIDAP will be socialized though a series of consultations with regional partner
organizations to ensure that the proposed actions are aligned with and reflective of the needs of the region.
It is hoped that stakeholders consider the GESI Analysis and its recommendations holistically, and where applicable beyond SuFiA TS, continue providing support through future USAID and other development partner investments and priority actions. Though some of the recommendations offered in this report go beyond the current scope and resource capability of SuFiA TS, they are included out of recognition of their importance in supporting USAID’s and the U.S. Government’s objectives to promote gender equality and social inclusion within Indo-Pacific regional fisheries. =
The lack of relevant gender-disaggregated data and the absence of political will are the main obstacles hampering the incorporation of gender equality and social inclusion considerations within fisheries management and decision making in the Indo-Pacific.
WOMEN IN FISHERIES: WHERE IS THE DATA?
Women staff half of all fisheries jobs and are critical to keeping the industry operational, but their contributions are hidden and undervalued, and they are almost always at a disadvantage when compared to men.
When seen from the perception and belief that only men carry out the harvesting task of fishing, the industry seems like a male-dominated space (FAO, 2020). In reality, harvesting is just one of many segments of the seafood value chain, which also includes activities ranging from the capture, production, and processing of fish to packaging, marketing, and trading. Ancillary service providers like those concerning equipment and vessels, supplies for operation, research and development, and enablers (institutions) are also members of the value chain. Add to this the smallscale and artisanal fisheries, which encompass all activities along the value chain from pre-harvest, harvest, and post-harvest (FAO, 2015), and a substantial segment of society and Asia’s population is involved in seafood value chains.
In the region, an estimated 39 million people are engaged in the primary sector of marine capture fisheries, of which 12 percent are women (FAO 2020). When including post-harvest operations data, it is estimated that one of every two workers in the sector is a woman (FAO, 2020). Women staff half of all fisheries jobs and are critical to keeping the industry operational. Despite this, the economic, social, and environmental contributions made by women are hidden and undervalued, and they are almost always at a disadvantage when compared to their male counterparts (WSI, 2020).
The Sustainable Fish Asia Technical Support (SuFiA TS) Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Analysis addresses pressing regional gender and social inclusion issues and constraints within the Indo-Pacific region’s fisheries industries and specifies how proposed interventions will affect not only women, but also men, youth, the disabled, and marginalized social groups within the Indo-Pacific countries.
This Analysis is also mindful of the greater impact of climate change on fisheries in tropical regions such as Asia, where rising temperatures are expected to lead to reductions in fishery productivity and increase extreme climate events. Thus, the recommendations in this GESI Analysis take into consideration actions that could assist in the adaptation of fishers and fishing communities in becoming more resilient in the face of climate change. Recent research suggests that fisheries-dependent households—including artisanal and small-scale fisher households—in coastal communities will be “among the first and most severely affected by rising temperatures” in coastal and marine ecosystems due to climate change (Fiorella et al. 2021).
The forthcoming implementation of the SuFiA TS should facilitate partnerships with relevant international organizations that recognize the importance of gender equity and social inclusion within regional fisheries management and decision making, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC), the Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF), international civil society and nongovernmental organizations such as the Stimson Center, USAID and relevant U.S. Government Agencies, academic and research institutions in the region, the private sector, and other development donor partners. It is paramount to broker partnerships with relevant regional and local stakeholders that recognize the importance of gender equity and social inclusion within fisheries. Such partnerships will play a critical role in ensuring that the voice and rights of women and marginalized groups are heard and acted upon. =
GESI ANALYSIS MAIN OBJECTIVES
• Provide an overview of gender and social inclusion issues within regional marine capture fisheries (industrial and small-scale, artisanal fishers).
• Highlight current challenges and gaps within regional marine capture fisheries that prevent women and other traditionally marginalized populations—small-scale fishers, youth, migrant, and stateless fishers—from being recognized as contributors within regional fisheries management and the international seafood industry.
• Identify opportunities to improve the rights, capacity, opportunity, and dignity of women and those disadvantaged based on their identity.
• Develop recommendations for the integration of gender and social inclusion in regional marine capture fisheries to inform the development process of a Gender and Inclusive Development Action Plan (GIDAP) for implementation under the SuFiA TS Activity.
“Without women, boats would remain unprepared on shore, fish would not be processed for market, and communities would be left uncared for. Despite their critical role, most of women’s work goes unseen”
The Hidden Half (USAID RDMA, 2020)
FOCUSING ON
WOMEN,
MIGRANTS, AND STATELESS FISHERS
Systematic discrimination in the fisheries sector makes it challenging for women, migrants, and stateless fishers to participate in decision-making and access resources and information about their rights as equal contributors to the fishing and seafood industries.
Fishing provides food security and provides more than 3.3 billion people (or 43 percent of the global population) with 20 percent of their average per capita intake of animal protein (FAO, 2020). Human population growth, rising income, and shifts in preference are increasing the global demand for nutritious food, and as land-derived food crops face expansion challenges due to scarcity of land and water resources, the demand for seafood as a primary source of food is increasing (Costello et al., 2020). Experts project that global consumption will increase from 80 million tons in live weight to almost 155 million tons (across all fish and shellfish categories) in the next three decades, assuming that supply is not constrained and that real prices do not rise (Patti, 2021). In fact, the global population is expected to consume twice as much fish and aquatic foods by 2050 compared to 2015 (Naylor et al., 2021). All in all, there is a fundamental assumption that supply can sustainably increase in order to meet rising global demand.
An increased pressure on fishery stocks to feed growing populations has led to fish being caught faster than they can reproduce to maintain fishery population levels (Ritchie and Roser, 2021). Countries have responded through management of fishing fleet capacity, particularly within the industrial sector, including distant water fishing fleet (DWF) operations. Still, by 2017, 34.2 percent of the world’s marine fisheries were classified as overfished, with another 60 percent classified as fully exploited (FAO, 2020).
One of the main causes of overfishing is illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. IUU fishing often targets high-value species and its annual value is estimated at anywhere from US$10 to 24 million (Agnew et al., 2009). In addition, IUU fishing costs the global economy billions of dollars as it denies the socio-economic rights of those working throughout the fishing value chain. IUU fishing exacerbates human rights abuses through forced labor, unfair labor practices, and the theft of fish biomass from national waters. Gradually, IUU practices exacerbate poverty, food insecurity, and the loss of livelihoods, particularly among vulnerable small-scale and stateless fishers.
In the Indo-Pacific region, fishing is the primary source of protein, contributes to economic growth, and supports the reduction of poverty through livelihoods and employment in coastal, urban and rural areas. The 2020 FAO State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture Report
reported that in 2018, the Asia region’s marine capture fishery segment contributed up to 47 percent of total global fish production (FAO 2020).
Asia is also home to the world’s largest fishing fleet with 3.1 million vessels, or 68 percent of the global total (FAO, 2020). These fleets rely on migrant workers from impoverished countries who are willing to work for extremely low or no wages in deplorable conditions. Over the last few decades, the phenomenon of IUU fishing has contributed toward Asia’s evolving workforce, whereby fisheries source more and more labor from lower-income countries, resulting in the recruitment of untrained low and/or no-cost (i.e., forced) labor. These conditions strip laborers of their human rights and is considered a form of modern slavery.
Women in large-scale commercial and industrial fisheries
In 2018, globally 39 million people were engaged in the primary sector of large-scale marine capture fisheries. Nearly five million, or 12 percent, are women (FAO, 2020). However, when secondary fisheries are factored in, it is estimated that one of every two workers is a woman (FAO, 2020). This means that despite their contributions to the fishery value chain, women are systematically undervalued and often treated as invisible. Systematic discrimination makes it challenging for women to participate in decision-making and access resources and information about their rights as equal contributors to the fishing and seafood industry.
These difficulties are reflected in the findings from the USAID-funded (2015-2020) Oceans and Fisheries Partnership Project (USAID Oceans). USAID Oceans found at two learning sites in Bitung, Indonesia and General Santos in the Philippines that women experience similar challenges and limitations. According to the study, women are rarely found working in the capture fisheries segment due to cultural norms, societal beliefs, and the perception of being limited in physical capacity to harvest catches. Most of the women are involved in the processing part of the value chain, working in processing facilities, or are involved in marketing activities. At these sites, women have limited access to information, networks, and associations to channel grievances, and they are constantly weighing the demands to fulfill their roles in occupational and household work. The competition for time and effort impacts their ability to enjoy leisure activities, rest, and participate in community life. The situation also hampers their ability to earn profits from profitable markets that are located further away. Case in point, male traders in General Santos tend to earn 20 percent more than women traders.
Women fishers who wish to defy cultural biases and gender norms and work within the capture portion of the value chain face resistance and backlash, including social alienation and gender-based violence. Recently investigated and documented ‘fish-for-sex’ schemes occurring in East African coastal and freshwater fisheries (UNEP 2016; Seager 2021) present the risk for similar exploitation schemes in the IndoPacific region. Though these specific schemes have not been reported in ASEAN countries, the prospect of decreased stocks and increased competition over remaining fish populations will inevitably create an enabling environment for exploitation as food security, livelihoods, and economic security in fishing communities are threatened.
Women in small-scale and artisanal fisheries
The 2012 World Bank Hidden Harvest study reported that while large-scale fisheries contribute to the majority of fish landings, over half of the catch in developing countries is produced by the small-scale fishery. Approximately 90-95 percent of the catches are for local human consumption and thus play a critical role in food security and poverty alleviation (World Bank, 2012).
Still, small-scale fishing communities are among the poorest, predisposed to poverty-induced social ills, and further marginalized by the failure to recognize the importance of the fishery (World Bank, 2012). The same study found that as much as 70 percent of small-scale fisheries catch numbers are underestimated in nationally reported documents; and that employment in small-scale fisheries is several times higher per ton of harvest than in large-scale fisheries.
This SuFiA GESI Analysis finds that there is a great need for investments to consider small-scale fisheries (SSF) separately from larger-scale fisheries due to the distinctive nature and challenges. SSF are more dispersed in terms of landing locations, require a different approach to management and enforcement, and are susceptible to climate events such as typhoons, storm surges, and floods along the coastal areas. SSF fishers have fewer opportunities to voice their grievances and are often marginalized based on their race, ethnicity, social standing, and gender. Furthermore, because most catches are meant for domestic consumption and sold directly to end consumers, the economic and nutritional contribution of small-scale fisheries is inadequately captured in national accounts and food balance sheets (World Bank, 2012).
Noting that women account for 46 percent of the total SSF workforce in the harvest and post-harvest segments, international organizations such as the World Bank, FAO, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recognize that a considerable effort is still required to address the need for women’s empowerment, access to healthcare, education, and financial support (World Bank, 2012). The role of women in SSF is not limited to processing and marketing. The same World Bank study found that women are also investors, a source for credit, managers of the household income, and an important segment of seafood consumers who ensure households are getting adequate nutrition.
Fishing for subsistence or gleaning, which is the collection of aquatic animals and plants in inland waters such as mangroves, rivers, and lakes, is another overlooked area where women play a considerable role. Subsistence fishing also involves children, not as child labor, but as family helpers. Unfortunately, as with SSF, subsistence fishing contributions and the accompanying processes and activities are not recorded and reported. Thus, the contribution of subsistence fishing has largely remained invisible in policies and research, underrepresented in fisheries assessments and reporting, and is rarely factored into decision-making processes and coastal resource management (Grantham et al., 2020).
The lack of disaggregated data regarding commercial versus small-scale fisheries is an area that must be addressed to determine true social and economic value. Future research should address the following data gaps and issues: the lack of/insufficient data in official records on the numbers and production of small-scale fishers; records or estimates of post-harvest labor; and information to access the scale and importance of subsistence fisheries (World Bank, 2012).
Currently, the FAO and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are working together to assess the availability of employment data in the fisheries secondary sector to better reflect the relevance of post-harvest employment data and obtain a comprehensive assessment of the capture fisheries and aquaculture sectors (FAO, 2020). This assessment will also investigate the importance of women’s contribution to production, trade, food security, and livelihoods and inform the development and design of gender-sensitive fishery policies to move the sector closer towards gender equality. It is expected that a robust data collection process conducted through the adoption and application of a gender lens will enable a greater appreciation for the complex power dynamics in the relationships between women and men and improve the understanding of their roles and responsibilities, access to and control over resources, assets, financial services, information, training and technology, and leadership (FAO, 2020).
Migrant and stateless fishers
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in 2020, there were 281 million international migrants around the world, representing 3.6 percent of the world’s population (IOM, 2019). Women migrants represent 48 percent of the total (Mcauliffe and Triandafyllidou, 2021). Approximately 169 million international migrants, or 60 percent of the total, are classified as labor migrants; and some 48.4 million of them (28.6 percent) can be found in the Asia Pacific region (ILO, 2021).
Regrettably, there is a lack of data on migrant fishers even though they represent a large portion of the fisheries-related workforce. This lack of information poses a myriad of challenges when it comes to working on policies and regulations that protect the rights of men, women, and children involved in fisheries work (Muhamad and Nour, 2021).
For example, the relative catch contributions to regional fisheries by the stateless fishers of Sama-Bajau operating in the waters off Sabah, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia are largely unknown and undocumented. Anecdotal reports claim they provide regional and international fisheries supply chains with a reliable catch, play a role in illegal and unsustainable fishing, and are subject to human rights abuses, including forced labor. With no documentation or citizenship, the Sama-Bajau are not recognized within the legal systems of Malaysia, the Philippines, or Indonesia. As such, they have no legal rights even
Migrant workers and stateless fishers like the Sama-Bajau are not recognized in most countries within the IndoPacific region and are vulnerable to human rights violations, especially women.
related to basic living needs, such as education, healthcare, and legal documentation. Consequently, they have no decision-making power.
The assessment and discussions relating to stateless fishers often focus on the socioeconomic marginalization and undocumented status of these peoples. However, an arguably more important dimension from a social inclusion perspective is the cultural and historical significance of stateless fishers as one of the “most widely dispersed peoples indigenous to Southeast Asia” (Nolde 2015). Migrant fishers and stateless groups like the Sama Bajau indigenous group must be recognized and incorporated within regional fisheries management discourse and decision making. Doing so would be consistent with USAID’s code of conduct regarding engaging and incorporating indigenous peoples and their perspectives into natural resource management and biodiversity conservation. This dimension of support for indigenous populations must be integrated into all GESI-related work that involves stateless fishers.
Regional application of GESI analysis findings
Given the impact of overfishing, illegal fishing, and climate change in the Indo-Pacific region, it is important for the SuFiA Technical Support Activity to consider the significant role that women, youth, and smallscale, migrant, and stateless fishers play in commercial and smallscale fisheries. The findings outlined within this GESI Analysis offer an improved understanding of the issues, challenges, and impacts of current fisheries practices and approaches through a gender and social inclusion lens.
The SuFiA Technical Support Activity aims to integrate the findings and relevant recommendations of this GESI Analysis within annual implementation efforts that enhance and promote gender equity and social inclusion and the equitable distribution of fisheries benefits. GESI Analysis findings and recommendations outlined in this report are also expected to be relevant and potentially applicable to other SuFiA project activities beyond Technical Support, as well as other regional development partner organization interests beyond USAID. =
A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS
The GESI Analysis was conducted under a USAID-vetted conceptual framework that utilizes a systematic evaluation of issues and identification of opportunities for improvements in equity and social inclusion.
FIVE DOMAINS ANALYZED
1
LAWS, LEGAL RIGHTS, POLICIES, AND INSTITUTIONS.
Identify the extent to which laws, policies, regulations, and institutional practices contain explicit or implicit gender biases where based on different social arrangements and economic behavior the impacts of such governing instruments on men and women differ. Under this domain, the analysis identifies the absence of key gender-related legislation and the gaps among existing policies to make recommendations for future interventions.
2
KNOWLEDGE, BELIEFS, AND PERCEPTIONS (CULTURAL NORMS).
Ascertain the cultural norms and beliefs surrounding the fishery industry that influence the perceptions of gender and social identity (and that in some cases are often supported by and embedded in governance and institutional instruments) and seek opportunities to improve the level and quality of activity participation.
3
PRACTICES AND PARTICIPATION (GENDER ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND TIME USE).
Examine and highlight the roles played by men and women (including those in disadvantaged groups) in the conduct of occupational and household activities, and the time used during paid work, unpaid work, and community services. Identify and address potential constraints in the level of participation before programmatic implementation.
4 5
ACCESS TO AND CONTROL OVER ASSETS AND RESOURCES.
Identify whether men and women (including those in disadvantaged groups) own and/or have access and the capacity to use productive resources, including assets, income, social benefits, public services, technology, and information necessary to be a fully active and productive participant in society. A general examination of how a society’s acceptance—or lack thereof—of an individual’s gender identity can influence their ability to access and control resources. Identify opportunities to address the gaps in access to and control over assets and resources.
PATTERNS OF POWER AND DECISION-MAKING.
Examine the dynamics between men and women in the fishery industry (including those in disadvantaged groups) to decide, influence, and exercise control over the material, human, intellectual, and financial resources in the family, community, and country. In addition, identify the extent to which men and women are represented in senior-level decision-making positions and can exercise their voices in decision-making within public, private and civil society organizations.
DATA SOURCES
LISTENING SESSIONS
This GESI Analysis incorporates the response data sourced from listening sessions with 23 key informants conducted over a threeweek period of February 1-18, 2022. The key informants come from various relevant subject area backgrounds and organizations, including academia, research institutions and organizations, nongovernmental organizations, government agencies, and areas of technical expertise.
The primary objective of the listening sessions was to identify key regional issues related to gender and social inclusion in the regional management of both large commercial/industrial and small-scale fisheries. The listening sessions were loosely structured around discussion topics and provided key informants with the opportunity to share their experiences, observations, lessons learned, and recommendations for fostering a more inclusive and transparent management of regional fishery resources and for contributing toward the reduction of unsustainable and IUU fishing. A list of participating key informants and experts can be found in Annex 1.
LITERATURE REVIEW
A literature review was conducted in January and February 2022 and based on publicly available reports, papers, articles, and research findings. The literature review assisted with the identification and highlighting of key gender and social inclusion challenges, gaps, and best practices relevant to regional fisheries. These secondary data sources complement the primary data collected through the listening sessions.
IDENTIFYING RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the analysis of the primary and secondary data collected through listening sessions and literature review, the GESI Analysis identified an initial set of recommendations. Certain recommendations reflect existing or proposed regional organization priorities; for example, the draft CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action (RPOA) 2.0.
The GESI Analysis also builds upon past USAID investments in terms of reviewing and reflecting the lessons learned and relevant recommendations made with respect to GESI in regional fisheries management and to combatting IUU fishing. In this regard, the analysis highlights the continued U.S. Government (USG) support being invested in increasing regional awareness and the wider USG commitment to address GESI issues in the fisheries sector within the Indo-Pacific region. The analysis and recommendations identified in the following sections offer an opportunity for the USG to engage previous activity partners and specific stakeholder groups who have been consistent supporters of USAID’s efforts across the region.
NEXT STEPS BEYOND THE ANALYSIS
The findings from this GESI Analysis will be used to inform the development of a Gender and Inclusive Development Action Plan (GIDAP) for SuFiA TS. The GIDAP will serve as an actionable roadmap to empower and respect the rights of both men and women working in the marine fisheries capture industry across the Indo-Pacific region. The finalized GESI Analysis and GIDAP will be socialized though a series of consultations with regional partner organizations to ensure that the proposed actions are aligned with and reflective of the needs of the region.
1LAWS, POLICIES, REGULATIONS, AND INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICES
One common policy endorsed across the Indo-Pacific is the 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) The Convention provides for the elimination of discrimination against women in politics and representation, education, employment, health, economic & social benefits, legal rights, and a special provision for rural women (see Article 14).
The Beijing Platform for Action, adopted at the 1995 Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women, recognizes discrimination factors not just as being female, but also discrimination based on race, age, language, ethnicity, culture, religion, disability, indigenous or other status. It emphasizes that, “Governments and other actors should promote an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programs, so that, before decisions are taken, an analysis is made of the effects on women and men respectively” (UN Women, 1995).
In 2015, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) launched 17 interlinked global sustainable development goals, including targets to achieve gender equality goals to empower all women and girls (SDG 5). The targets include ending discrimination whether or not legal frameworks are in place; ending all forms of violence including trafficking and other types of exploitation; ensuring women’s full participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels; having access to health, economic resources, financial services, technology, and natural resources; and adapting and strengthening policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls.
Implementation of these gender-specific international conventions and commitments is often the mandate of the respective countries’ Ministry for Women or Department of Social and Labor Affairs. To a certain extent, almost all countries in the region have incorporated gender equality provisions into national policies and legislation, as reported in the country reports required to fulfill reporting obligations to the conventions, however, few countries have incorporated gender mainstreaming into fisheries and development programs. In addition, actual implementation, impact, and evidence of gender mainstreaming success are rarely recorded, analyzed, and reported or not documented at all (Oposa, 2019).
In addressing the issue of forced labor and protection of victims of forced labor, all ASEAN countries except Brunei have ratified the ILO Convention Concerning Forced or Compulsory Labor 1930 (No.29).
The Convention was complemented by the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labor Convention (1930) – P029 that obligates state parties to provide protection and appropriate remedies, including compensation to victims of forced labor and to sanction the perpetrators of forced labor. It also obligates state parties to “…develop a national policy and plan of action for the effective and sustained suppression of forced or compulsory labor in consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, which shall involve systematic action by the competent authorities and, as appropriate, in coordination with employers’ and workers’ organizations, as well as with other groups concerned’ (Article 1, section 2). To date, Thailand is the only country in the region that has ratified the Convention. Most of the region’s countries have no policy guidance relating to addressing the overexploitation of migrant fishers.
The rights and protection for migrant workers and their families are provided for through the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (ICMW), 1990. It identifies “seafarer” to include fisherman, referring to migrant workers employed on board a vessel registered in a State of which he or she is not a national (Article 2). It is important to note, however, that the ICMW does not apply to refugees and stateless persons (Article 6). In terms of each country’s commitment, the Convention has only been ratified by Indonesia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste with Cambodia as a signatory. As with other international conventions, member states do not necessarily align their existing (fisheries) national laws against recommended international standards.
Migrant fishers often find themselves trapped in situations that include debt bondage, long hours working overtime, verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, deception, and abuse of vulnerability that have led to many deaths (Erou and Shahrin, 2022). Based on the general input from the listening sessions, key informants agreed that the absence of data analyzing the situation of migrant fishers is a priority issue and that data is not typically captured within national statistics and databases. When coupled with the absence of an official platform for grievances (beyond several advocacy groups and NGOs), migrants consistently feel “invisible” and thus vulnerable to exploitation.
The 2007 ILO Work in Fishing Convention 188 (ILO C188), which was adopted and put into effect in 2017, plays a significant role to ensure decent working conditions for fishers aboard commercial fishing vessels. The Convention sets provisions on acceptable conditions of service, accommodation, food, occupational safety, and health protection. From a fisher’s perspective, the ILO C188 would facilitate a stronger social dialogue between representatives of fishing vessel owners and fishers, thus providing mechanisms that protect their lives and their families’ lives. Unfortunately, according to a CSO Briefing Paper to ASEAN, the Convention lacks a solid base of support and has limited global ratifications. Thailand is the only ASEAN country that has ratified the Convention, and those who have not ratified the Convention are not bound by its obligations. Although Thailand is taking the lead through the ratification of international conventions such as the ILO C188 and the P029, there are still significant implementing gaps that need to be addressed especially in enforcement and implementation of the convention to improve the rights and safety of fishers and migrant workers. These gaps have led experts in the field to call for the ratification of C188 by other countries in the region.
It is assumed that for both the ILO C188 and the P029, where fisheries are concerned, the definition of fisheries refers only to the act of harvesting or production of fish at sea, where men generally dominate the workforce. As such, these policies may inadvertently reflect a missing gender component. On the other hand, the ICMW provides for the rights of all migrants (in this case - “seafarer”) and their families without distinction of sex, race, color, language, religion or conviction, political or other opinions, national, ethnic or social origin, nationality, age, economic position, property, marital status, birth or other status (Article 1 ICMW). Nevertheless, there are implementation limitations caused by the lack of ratification by most countries in the region (except for Indonesia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste with an interest to ratify by Cambodia).
Even with the ratification of the CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action, women have yet to fully enjoy all benefits of ratification. At the national level, most national policies, guidelines, and action plans have yet to be aligned with international instruments or adequately enforced, particularly for women in fisheries. However, the CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action represent the most promising international instruments that can be leveraged to mainstream gender equality in largeand small-scale fisheries. Challenges remain to compel GESI actors, such as relevant regional organizations and member country government agencies responsible for the implementation of CEDAW (potentially expanding Article 14 on rural women), to work with fishery and natural resources agencies to develop a deeper understanding of the discriminating issues facing women in fisheries and ensure implementation.
The ratification status of relevant conventions across Indo-Pacific countries within the implementation area of the SuFiA Technical Support Activity can be found in Annex 2.
International and Regional Policies and Guidelines
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) 1995 Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries is a voluntary instrument that sets out international standards for responsible fishing practices while respecting the ecosystem and biodiversity. In its current form, the FAO Code of Conduct lacks a comprehensive GESI component.
In 2015, FAO published the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). It applies the human rights-based approach in providing recommendations to support responsible governance and resource management to ensure food security and nutrition. It also recognizes the needs of indigenous people for social development, employment, and decent work conditions. More importantly, it recognizes the value of fisheries throughout the value chain, such as in post-harvest and trade activities (FAO, n.d.).
Unfortunately, there is little evidence that both the Code and the SSF Guidelines have been implemented effectively in the region. Its voluntary nature means that not all countries will necessarily review their approach to small-scale fisheries in line with both the Code and guidelines. It leads to varying levels of implementation based on existing national legal systems and institutional arrangements. Countries such as Costa Rica, for example, are leading by example through the inclusion of the SSF Guidelines in the National Development Plan 2015-2018.
As regional organizations that recognize the contributions of men and women in fisheries, both the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) and the Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) have gender components incorporated within regional management frameworks: the SEAFDEC Gender Strategy and the CTI-CFF Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Policy. These regional policies guide gender integration throughout the organizations’ programs and projects. SEAFDEC is actively working and supporting regional approaches for the implementation of the FAO SSF Guidelines. There is a need for this work to be accelerated with the support of multiple regional partners and ultimately encouraging ASEAN and CTI-CFF member countries to embrace best practices relating to the integration of GESI considerations within regional fisheries management, including with small-scale, stateless, and migrant fishers.
There are also discriminative practices within national legal systems for migrant fishers and workers to assert their rights. One example is Thailand not permitting migrant fishers to be unionized. Despite the legal barrier, in 2017, the Fishers’ Rights Network was established and as of April 2020 represents over 2,000 migrant fishermen in Thailand (Orlowski, 2020). In another Thai province, Cambodian fishermen and their wives created the Samae San Fisherman’s Alliance to seek better working conditions and assert their rights. Efforts are still ongoing to ensure the Thai government could better implement the C188 with adequate and effective national laws and regulations. In 2021, more than 20 advocacy organizations have called on ASEAN countries to ratify the ILO C188. The group demanded a more active role for the ASEAN Committee for Migrant Workers, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, and the ASEAN High Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (Dagur, 2021).
It is also important to note that the rights and well-being of small-scale, coastal, and artisanal fishers, including those involved in subsistence fishing, are not adequately addressed even though the collective economic contribution of these fisheries is significant. Despite being voluntary, FAO’s SSF Guidelines is the only international instrument that provides an in-depth focus on the appropriate management of small-scale fisheries. Currently, there is insufficient data and a lack of available research about the value of the economic and sociocultural contributions of small-scale fisheries within the region, including through a gender-sensitive lens across the fisheries value chain.
A recent draft action plan Decent Work and Thriving Businesses for Women in Fisheries: A Cooperative Action Plan was developed with the support of several parties and programs including the USAID Sustainable Fish Asia Local Capacity Development Activity (SUFIA LCD). Its goal is to contribute to a greater regional understanding across stakeholder groups of key labor challenges for women in the fisheries sector, and to support regional advancements for gender with just, equitable, and inclusive labor conditions across the Asia-Pacific fisheries sector. It identifies four major domains of women’s fisheries labor, the needs of groups of women and girls who are frequently overlooked, and provides recommendations to build a solid platform for action. The plan takes into consideration relevant international conventions and guidelines such as the CEDAW and the FAO SSF Guidelines in providing the desired outcomes and recommended activities. This plan could potentially be referred to when planning for projects and activities that are related to addressing women labor issues in fisheries. =
RECOMMENDATIONS
Relating to the 2007 ILO Work in Fishing Convention 188 (ILO C188):
• Participate in ongoing efforts by organizations advocating for the ratification of the ILO C188 by all ASEAN Member States and support its full implementation at national and regional levels.
• Work with labor rights organizations and advocacy groups such as Verité Southeast Asia to conduct a gender analysis study on the state of women migrants working on fishing vessels.
• Work with migrant advocacy groups such as the Issara Institute to carry out gender analysis on the state of women migrants working throughout the fishery value chain, including women fishers in smallscale fishery.
• Analyze the extent of the implementation of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (ICMW) 1990, in two pilot sites; one each from ASEAN and CTI countries (note: the Convention has only been ratified by Indonesia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste.)
Relating to the 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW):
• Open a dialogue with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (the CEDAW Committee), discussing the implementation of General Recommendation No.34 (2016) on the rights of rural women concerning fisheries.
• Assess the state of CEDAW implementation for fisheries in the region and mapping of gender discrimination throughout the fishery value chain.
Relating to the Decent Work and Thriving Businesses for Women in Fisheries: A Cooperative Action Plan
• Forge a partnership with the Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries Section of the Asian Fisheries Society and World Fish Centre in the consultation and implementation of the draft Cooperative Action Plan that may assist regional organizations’ members such as SEAFDEC and CTI-WLF to achieve labor-related gender equality goals.
Relating to the 1995 Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines):
• Develop a roadmap to support the adoption and implementation of legal instruments to support gender equity and women’s empowerment in sustainable fisheries management.
• Share lessons learned from this process with regional organizations to encourage and assist similar applications in other member countries helping them to develop and/or update national policies and legal instruments in line with regional and international obligations that they are subscribed to.
• Provide technical assistance (when requested) to support the review of national gender and fisheries policies and propose complementary approaches to connect fisheries and gender legal and institutional arrangements. This includes understanding and identifying potential gaps in implementation and proposing intervention approaches.
Relating to USAID Oceans:
• Investigate the status of planned legal instruments developed under USAID Oceans Program for learning sites in Bitung, Indonesia, and General Santos, Philippines. For example, monitor the progress of the accepted (by the tuna industry players) resolution on Promotion of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in the Tuna Fisheries Sector in General Santos City and Sarangani Bay Area, Philippines.
• Create a roadmap for the adoption and implementation processes and develop systems to measure the impact and support adaptive management.
• Ensure the legal instruments that are to be developed with support from USAID Oceans will be properly implemented, a roadmap for the implementation should be in place as a reference for responsible bodies to implement, monitor, and evaluate these policies. An evaluation team should be identified to measure the impact and support adaptive management.
CULTURAL NORMS AND BELIEFS
Cultural norms and beliefs related to gender stereotyping commonly portray men as those fishers who are going out on vessels while women work in the skilled and time-consuming tasks of the processing and marketing segment of the value chain. This stereotyping goes back several generations and has shaped the behaviors relating to how women’s contributions to the sector are often unpaid, part-time, opportunistic, and viewed as an extension of household duties (Klieber et al., 2014).
The USAID Gender Analysis of the (Tuna) Fisheries Sector in Bitung, Indonesia echoes these widely accepted cultural norms. Although there are some women with knowledge of fishing activities, “they do not choose to work as fishers because of the wide-held cultural beliefs and perceptions that women are unsuited to work as fishers due to
physical factors, as well as women’s responsibility to take care of home and children” (USAID Oceans, 2018a). In contrast, men who step out from the cultural norms and choose to work as fish processors and wholesalers do not face negative social and cultural judgment (USAID Oceans, 2018a). Women who wish to step out from the stereotypical fisheries work face more challenges especially when it comes to balancing obligations and expectations to also fulfill household-related roles such as childcare. As a result, they are often unable to work and venture away from their duties to their families (USAID Oceans, 2018a).
A survey conducted in General Santos, Philippines, demonstrated indications that women are interested in working as commercial fishing boat captains but are constrained by cultural beliefs and gender roles
(USAID Oceans, 2018b). Over the last few decades, the trend of women moving into and leading operations within the capture portion of fisheries value chains are well documented, including in the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union.
Women fishers who wish to defy cultural biases and gender norms and work within the capture portion of the value chain require an enabling environment (for social protection and opportunities). This enabling environment is essential to avoid the potential social alienation and backlash that could occur from local or national resistance to gender role changes, including gender-based violence (GBV) and other safetyrelated concerns facing women. =
RECOMMENDATIONS
Create an enabling environment for cultural norms to shift:
• Work with local NGOs and communities to conduct a series of open discussions on designing an enabling and safe environment for women and men who wishes to participate in roles that go beyond the cultural norms and beliefs and support equitable and fair practices
• Provide opportunities to facilitate people’s access to education in achieving their ambitions, e.g., women training to become boat captains, or men training to become business owners of processing seafood products.
• Provide opportunities to access safe platforms for women and youth to participate in discussions and dialogues.
Invest in women to become more self-aware, confident, and effective communicators when challenging social norms. Design empowerment programs that work with groups of women with similar rank, roles, and status:
• Develop, apply, and conduct holistic fisheries management programs for men and women via a gender-sensitive approach.
• Work with partners investing in gender champions (men and women) or women’s groups who will continue communication and outreach programs conveying gender empowerment messages to minimize social stigma for those stepping out of the cultural norms and practices.
• Work with partners investing in youth to bring about flexible cultural norms and belief systems. Assess the required improvements to engage with healthy, productive, and engaged youth, in assets, contribution, enabling environment, and agency (refer to the USAID Positive Youth Development –PYD Framework .
GENDER ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND TIME USE
Gender stereotyping in fisheries in the ASEAN region creates biases or dictates gender roles, responsibilities, and time use allocations between men and women. As discussed previously, it is widely accepted that the proportion of men working at sea is significantly higher, and women’s contributions are almost completely limited to the processing and marketing segments of the value chain. To validate this observation, it is essential to account for women’s roles in the large-scale fisheries, but there is very little gender-disaggregated data. Based on the SuFiA TS literature review findings and consensus opinions voiced out of the listening sessions, the region currently lacks the quantitative and qualitative gender-disaggregated data and information needed to influence policy reforms, and it is a significant barrier to gender equality in the sector.
Gender roles, responsibilities, and time use in the Melanesian Pacific Islands (e.g., Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands as CTI-CFF Member Countries) are not much different compared to ASEAN Member States. The segregation of roles is deeply entrenched in the cultural belief that the men are to undertake the more physically demanding tasks and women’s role in fishing is much larger than is generally acknowledged. As in the ASEAN region, the gender aspect of fisheries employment in Melanesia has traditionally not received much attention (Gillet, 2009).
The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture Report 2020 reported that an estimated 59.5 million people are engaged in the primary sector of capture fisheries of which only 12 percent are women. Most fishers can be found in developing countries working in smallscale artisanal fisheries (including aquaculture). Asia contributes to the highest number of fisher workers (FAO, 2020).
The FAO does not routinely collect statistics on post-harvesting, therefore it does not have gender-disaggregated data or analysis for the people working in this segment of the value chain. Nevertheless, this gap is currently being addressed by an ongoing activity with OECD (FAO, 2020).
The USAID Oceans and Fisheries Partnership (USAID Oceans) published two gender analyses of the fisheries sector in Bitung, Indonesia (USAID Oceans 2018a), and General Santos, Philippines
(USAID Oceans 2018b). Both studies validate the general observation that most women are involved in the pre-and post-harvest fishing operations such as preparation, sorting, icing, marketing, record-keeping, and net mending. The study found that women are the dominant presence in local markets because they are closer to their homes.
Some key findings from the Gender Analysis in General Santos (USAID Oceans 2018b) revealed that men spend between 6.6 and 12.7 hours per day on productive (market-related) activities; while women are only able to spend between 1.5 and 7.2 hours per day on fisheryrelated activities. This is because women have many non-market related obligations to the household and children where they spend four times as much time per day (7 to 8 hours per day), in comparison to men who can spend between 2.8 and 5.2 hours per day to fulfill their obligations to their families (USAID Oceans, 2018b). It is important to note that most, if not all, household duties are unpaid work.
The competing demand for time spent working in the fishery value chain and time spent working in the home translates to less time for leisure and rest/sleep, which could lead to health problems later in life. Longer hours in both roles also affect women’s ability to participate in community activities. More practical, efficient technologies and innovation, when applied to unburden some of the manual work for both genders, would mean more time to rest, pursue other interests, and participate in community activities. In Cambodia, a project in the Tonle Sap region introduced sustainable and time-saving techniques via the introduction of efficient fish smoking technology and eliminated the need for daughters to care for the stove for up to eight hours a day. The technology enabled 60 percent more girls to attend school instead of working at home. (Vann, 2016)
In small-scale, subsistence fisheries gender roles also differ. Most women are involved in harvesting seafood by boats in nearshore areas, rivers, and lakes (World Bank, 2012). These roles are influenced by the types of products that they sell. For example, in the Solomon Islands, women trade mollusks, crustaceans, and other low-value fish, while men sell larger reef fish (FAO, 2015). The role of women in small-scale fisheries is not limited to processing and marketing. The same World Bank study (2012) found that women are also investors, a source for credit, managers of
the household income, and an important segment of seafood consumers ensuring households are getting adequate nutrition.
As cited by key informants during the listening sessions, small-scale fisheries-related economic and social data are not captured by national statistics. This poses a challenge to reporting the true economic and socio-cultural value of fisheries in the region. The absence of genderdisaggregated data and information also means that it is harder for decision-makers to understand the issues and needs of the small-scale fishers from the perspective of men and women.
Further insight into the large- and small-scale fisheries through the intersectionality framework would prove useful in the understanding of fishers and communities by revealing how different forms of social differences (e.g., gender, nationality, age, marital status, etc.) interact to produce distinctive positions within the power structure of resources governance. At the crux of the problem, it is safe to assume that there is a general lack of understanding and awareness of gender roles in fisheries, which has contributed to the persistent neglect of the welfare and needs of both genders, particularly women.
The roles, contributions, and state of migrant seafood workers have also gone largely unrecorded. A case study on migrant women in Thailand found that gender roles, norms, and stereotypes also influence young migrant Cambodian women as they migrate to Thailand to work in the seafood industry (Plan International, 2018). Stereotypes persist in the supply value chain where conditions of work and wages are dictated based on gender. While migrant men work in fishing vessels, women work as processors picking crab meat, cutting tuna, and processing octopus and shrimp meat. They are also tasked with sorting fish, mending nets, and carrying out home-based work in processing and mending (Williams et al., 2019). The earnings of women migrant workers are seasonal, taking away the security of a fixed income. Like other women in the fishery industry, they are also expected to undertake the unpaid work of rearing children and household chores, which is largely unrecognized by men and society. The men, however, are vulnerable to many forms of human rights violations and are sometimes entrenched in debt-bondage slavery, with no avenue to relay grievances or seek legal aid or restitution. =
RECOMMENDATIONS
Gender roles responsibilities and time use:
• Ensure the SuFiA TS program collects gender-disaggregated data to provide evidence for the need for policies and guidelines to support roles and responsibilities of women and youth.
• Map discrimination in gender roles and the time spent working in fishery related jobs and in household duties using the tools developed by USAID Oceans.
• Conduct gender analyses of migrant and stateless fishers to improve the understanding of the barriers that women face within the already disadvantageous circumstances as migrant and stateless women, assess risk adaptation capacity of the communities, and provide recommendations.
ACCESS TO AND CONTROL OVER ASSETS AND RESOURCES
Access to and control over assets and resources refers to the examination of whether women and men own and/or have access to and the capacity to use productive resources like land, housing, income, social benefits (social insurance, pensions), public services (health, water), technology, and the information necessary to contribute and become a productive member to society.
Based on the findings of the Gender Analysis of the Fisheries Sector in Bitung, Indonesia (USAID Oceans, 2018a), women are often owners of small-scale processing businesses and responsible for securing capital. Sources of capital can come from family members, cooperatives, banks, and loans from fellow traders. In General Santos, Philippines women have a higher level of education but less access to profitable markets due to time constraints and commitments to return home and attend to household chores and childcare. In General Santos, despite women having more market information, access to technology, and storage facilities, the men usually have the final decision on the use, maintenance, and operational aspects of the assets (USAID Oceans, 2018b).
In the region, there are fishery associations that do not consider or accept women’s membership. Examples include in Lao PDR and the Philippines
where women fishers are largely unrecognized and undervalued in the fishery industry (USAID Oceans, 2020a). Barriers to fishery associations reduce women’s access to important resources such as financial loans and training opportunities.
In East Malaysia coastal areas (including Sabah State), reports show that culturally, women tend to marry at an early age and drop out of school. They are then expected to attend to household duties and supplement the fishery work of the spouse, leaving no time to upskill themselves. However, there are indications that women are more open to seeking alternative incomes and are keen to seek training opportunities to equip themselves with new knowledge and skills.
ASEAN countries provide the highest number of migrant fishers working on Taiwanese and Chinese-owned vessels. Cambodian and Myanmar migrant fisher workers mainly work on Thai vessels fishing in Malaysian and Indonesian waters, while Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Filipino migrant fisher workers work on Korean and Taiwanese vessels (ILO, 2015). Until the ASEAN countries ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (ICMW), and specifically the ILO C188 Work in Fishing
Convention, they are not obligated to provide support to migrant fishers and seafood workers. This situation leaves migrants with limited access to basic resources such as health and education as well as fair wages and insurance. For example, the men working on fishing vessels are stripped of their access to communication, healthcare, adequate and healthy sustenance, and opportunities to lodge grievances. In some countries, migrants are also prohibited from forming unions. The fight for migrant fishers’ rights has been the focus of several advocacy groups and NGOs working to eliminate what is deemed modern slavery. Based on a report by Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Seabound: The Journey to Modern Slavery on the High Seas, the top forced labor indicators in Indonesia include withholding of wages, abusive working and living conditions, deception, and abuse of vulnerabilities. On land, women migrants working in the processing industry have reported to be given limited access to healthcare and financial aids, while their children face limited access to education.
When it comes to access to and control of resources and assets, the stateless fisher communities have the least. Statelessness affects a person’s daily life in multiple ways One of the most widely dispersed indigenous groups of Southeast Asia is the Sama-Bajau. An estimated 1.1 million Sama-Bajau are living in Sabah, Malaysia (347,000), the Philippines (564,000), and eastern Indonesia (200,000) (Stacey, 2018). As coastal fishers who glean for shellfish, they are intimately connected to the marine environment on which they depend. They are not recognized in Malaysia’s legal system, meaning they have no rights to education, healthcare, and residency (Yusof, 2021). The Sama-Bajau families tend to bear the worst of climate change due to their proximity to the ocean. There are reports of dwindling fish catch because of weather unpredictability. Incidences of boats capsizing while fishing in uncertain weather conditions are reported. As sea levels rise, in some areas of coastal Sabah, Sama-Bajau houses are increasingly closer to the edge of the ocean, and some homes are already completely submerged (Yusof, 2021). The Sama-Bajau communities have no access to land and the capacity to move inland.
This vulnerability was demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic when lockdowns occurred in 2020 and 2021 in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Sama-Bajau fishers and communities had no alternatives to generate income nor the means to access government financial aid. Even if the Government of Malaysia provided free COVID-19 screenings and care for all who tested positive for the virus, the Sama-Bajau communities have been largely dependent on the donations from CSOs and NGOs in the form of food baskets and hygiene packs. =
RECOMMENDATIONS
Carry out analysis studies on the factors that reduce women’s access to and control of resources:
• Assess and review best practices around the world involving community-based approaches in microfinancing for men and women and support other existing. By observing women’s commitment to self-improvement, policymakers can better appreciate women’s contributions to fisheries and the communities.
Develop partnerships* with NGOs, civil societies, think tanks, and advocacy groups to identify solutions relevant to human rights and welfare:
• Offer grants and guidance to help them practice and implement solutions and lessons learned during dialogue and training exercises.
• Organize and develop a series of dialogue and communication products to encourage conversations on human rights and welfare issues in fisheries (including the disadvantaged communities).
• Organize learning sessions, workshops, and competitions to raise awareness and innovation among the youth, building on the lessons learned from partners like the Stimson Center.
• Study the deployment e-CDT technologies in large- and smallscale fisheries as potential tools that can be leveraged to monitor human rights violations and provide preventive measures.
• Assess products and services that can be developed with the Stimson Center like geospatial analysis in relation to GESI by using existing primary research data.
• Seek ways to provide opportunities for women to continue learning and upgrade skills and knowledge in financial literacy, business operations, marketing, and communication technology.
• Use communications products to highlight the stateless fishers of the Sama-Bajau indigenous group and the challenges they face due to overfishing, climate change and legal circumstances and partner with research institutions already working in assessing the contributions of the Sama-Bajau to coastal fisheries.
*Such as the USAID Advancing Gender in the Environment (AGENT) collaboration program with IUCN.
5
PATTERNS OF POWER AND DECISION-MAKING
Studies have shown that women’s participation in decision-making and leadership produces significant value in designing and applying public policies that have a positive impact on people’s lives. When women influence leadership and decision-making, they tend to influence policies that would benefit women, children, and families in general (Jarroud, 2015).
In the Indo-Pacific region’s fisheries management domain, women are limited in their influence over policies and decisions. Despite occupying half of the workforce in the fishery industry, women have limited power and control. This trend exists in leadership positions and reverberates all the way down to the community and household levels.
Decision-making at the national level
In the region, women’s representation in parliament has increased to 20 percent in 2020, however, it is still below the global average of 25 percent. In sub-regions, women’s representation is even lower such as in the pacific, where only 17 percent of parliament seats are held by women. The seats of elected representatives to local government are still dominated by men, where women’s representation is below the global average of 36 percent (UN Women, not dated). Women are also severely underrepresented as Ministers of environment and natural resource-related sectors. In fact, only seven percent of all environmentrelated ministries have a female minister, compared to the global average of 12 percent (UN Women, not dated).
In regional working group meetings and international conferences, women officers working in marine resources management and fisheries agencies are near to equal in proportion to men. However, most of these women are junior and mid-level officers, and few women occupy senior leadership positions. Men still tend to dominate senior management positions and serve as the primary decision-makers. While there have been important, recent exceptions, such as the Minister of Fisheries in Indonesia, men often explain away this imbalance in senior leadership and attribute it to women “prioritizing” family obligations and needs. In fact, there is no clear evidence that this is a primary reason.
Decision-making at regional and community levels
At the community level, men generally lead fisheries’ associations and are elected or appointed as traditional heads of villages. In the absence of gender-disaggregated data, (as with most aspects of fishery supply chains) there is a need for an analysis of the power and control dynamics
in regional fisheries management at the fishing community-level across member countries. Only rough estimates exist relating to the proportion of men and women leaders in fisheries/coastal communities across the region. A regional study using a randomized stratified sampling design at the community level would help to shed light on this information need.
In a community-level study assessing how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected small-scale fisheries in Brazil, the research team interviewed 40 heads of associations of which 42.5 percent are women (Monalisa, 2022). The growing trend of women leaders are encouraging and is slowly breaking the traditionally space dominated by men. The study found that women association leaders perceive the impacts of COVID-19 and climate change to be more severe than their male counterparts and are highly likely to take proactive actions with respect to setting an example and decision-making (Monalisa, 2022). The study recommends more investment in women leaders to promote faster and better responses to impacts. Such a corollary study in the Indo-Pacific would not only provide comparative value between Southeast Asia and Latin America, but would also raise awareness of gender roles in weathering COVID-19 impacts on fishing communities in the Indo-Pacific.
In 2016, the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF) launched the Women Leaders’ Forum (WLF) as a platform to recognize the contribution of women leaders in protecting and sustaining marine biodiversity. Its main objectives are to empower women leaders to continue their work, ranging from conserving (and rehabilitating) habitats and species and advocating for policies and decision-making processes to empowering women entrepreneurs to become business leaders.
Development partners, including USAID, continue supporting the WLF through various training and grant programs, including the USAIDsupported WLF Intergenerational Leadership and Learning Program through the U.S. Department of the Interior. The mentoring program reached women from all six CTI member countries and paired them with mentors to work on conservation challenges in their communities. Each mentor-mentee pair was awarded a small grant to develop and implement climate-smart solutions in their countries and communities.
While the current scope of SuFiA TS does not include a grants-undercontract mechanism, the incorporation of such a small grants program under SuFiA TS or other SuFiA Activities offers significant promise to
address key information needs while building regional capacity and raising awareness of the critical role of GESI within regional fisheries management and policy decision-making.
Decision-making at the household level
Findings from USAID Oceans gender analysis in General Santos, Philippines (USAID Oceans 2018b) showed that for household decisions, women generally decide on matters related to food, budget, and community involvement. Whereas both parents have equal say in the children’s education and upbringing. The men decide on all matters relating to fishing operations except for decisions on marketing, where the women are dominant (USAID Oceans, 2018b). However, it is worth noting that although women and wives manage household finances, spending priorities are often dictated by the men and husbands (USAID Oceans 2018b).
Similar dynamics are found at the household level within fishing communities supplying the Bitung Fish port in Northern Sulawesi, Indonesia (USAID Oceans 2018a). At the household level, men make the decisions related to fishing operations. Boat owners and captains, who are all men, decide on the time, location, and composition of the crew (USAID Oceans 2018a). Women in the small-scale fish processing sector decide on the type of fish product to be produced for the market. For women business owners, they feel liberated to make independent business decisions and in doing so, have earned the respect of fishing households and the wider fishing community (USAID Oceans 2018a).
Decision-making at the individual level
Under USAID Oceans, the program supported gender champions to raise awareness at the regional level to improve working conditions and gender equality within ASEAN and CTI member countries and fishing communities. Investments under SuFiA TS to re-engage and support such gender champions would enable them to continue working towards creating long-term social, economic, and environmental benefits, and could have a positive impact throughout participating communities and across the region. =
RECOMMENDATIONS
Replicate the Women in Fisheries Leadership Recognition Program:
• Replicable women empowerment programs need to be organized and spread through global, regional, and local dialogues/exchanges for women, women champions, and entrepreneurs working in fisheries from all levels with known partners (adapted from USAID Oceans, 2020c). Potential partners include:
� USAID programs: Advancing Gender in the Environment (AGENT)
� CTI-CFF Women Leaders’ Forum
� Asian Fisheries Society
� FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department
� Secretariat for the Pacific Community
� National Network for Women in Fisheries in the Philippines
� World Fish Centre
� International Association for Women in the Seafood Industry (WSI)
� Australia’s Women’s Industry Network Seafood Community
� European Network of Women’s Organizations in Fisheries & Aquaculture
� Women in Fisheries Network Fiji
� Mundus Maris, Spanish Network of Women in the Fisheries Sector
Empower women leaders as decision-makers:
• Provide professionally certified training to women leaders to empower key decision-makers and effectively integrate gender equality initiatives across their organizational/corporate structure (e.g., the USAID Gender Equity Executive Leadership Program; the East-West Center Asia Pacific Leadership Program).
• Provide opportunities for grants and technical support to women collective action groups to encourage local solutions and start sustainable businesses.
Build regional capacity:
• Mediate collaborative discussions with private organizations towards forging partnerships with regional organizations based on the GESI regional guidelines. The Monterey Framework for Social Responsibility is an example where seafood businesses put into action the collectively agreed-upon definition of socially responsible seafood that meets the FAO SSF Guidelines on sustainable resource management, social development, gender equality, and capacity development.
• Support regional organizations in the strengthening of existing and/ or the development of new GESI regional guidelines for private sector partnerships and collaborations, including mobilizing financial resources.
• Provide technical support to agreed projects and investments by private organizations.
• Provide opportunities to access avenues for women and youth to participate in decision-making processes.
MORE DATA, MORE TRAINING, MORE RESEARCH
Task force
Acknowledging that women in the seafood industry are largely invisible, ignored, and unrecognized is an important first step. The establishment of a regional hub (or taskforce) as a facilitating body to work with regional organizations and potential partners who advocate and support GESI mainstreaming efforts into regional fisheries policies, standards, legal framework, and programming is recommended.
SuFiA TS can assist in forging partnerships through the regional hub such as the Women’s Leaders Forum, with international and regional organizations working in fisheries issues like scientific research, operations, social sciences, and human rights. Partners should include the private sector and youth organizations. Activities should include learning events where partners share research findings and pitch ideas.
Academic partnerships
Create a gender mainstreaming certification program endorsed by local universities in the ASEAN and CTI regions. The program, based on the Gender Research in Fisheries and Aquaculture Training Handbook developed by the USAID Oceans Program, would ensure the continuity of USAID’s legacy in gender research for fisheries.
• Ensure the training handbook is part of fisheries course modules for undergraduate and post-graduate programs through the close cooperation of universities, such as through CTI university partnerships and other interested partners.
• Create an independent course for working professionals and sponsor hands-on internships in local communities or with the public and private sector as a prerequisite for undergraduates.
• Recognize participants as professionals with adequate training on gender research who can serve as gender integration consultants to communities and women fishing groups and conduct studies with the proper guidance from academic partners.
• Extend the activity beyond SuFiA TS under USAID’s gender and girls’ education strategy.
Research and investigation
Conduct primary research activities for small-scale (including subsistence fishing) and large-scale fisheries throughout the value chain at two pilot sites in each country. Data gathered should be incorporated into the SuFiA TS database as well as those of its partners. Easy to access databases permit more efficient analysis and support the development of policies and programs.
• Conduct a review of all known ongoing small-scale fishery primary research conducted in the region and identify GESI related data gaps that can be supplemented through partnership collaborative arrangements with SuFiA TS. Known research includes the FAO’s Illuminating Hidden Harvest, an initiative that aims to generate and disseminate new evidence on the importance of small-scale fisheries to inform policy and practice.
• In partnership with relevant regional coordination and research organizations, identify and undertake critical primary data collection to supplement and update existing data for a socio-economic analysis that looks at the contributions of migrant forced labor and stateless fishers to the industry. Conduct separate GESI analyses of each disadvantaged community to include recommendations on risk mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
• Use the lessons learned from the above activities and processes to inform SuFiA TS team on whether USAID Oceans-developed tools and methodologies require revisions and updates. This includes lessons on publishing data in local languages and customizing data collection tools according to the context of each country. The revised data collection tools should be socialized with relevant regional organizations such as SEAFDEC and CTI-WLF for future implementation.
AN EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE FUTURE
As pointed out by the International Organization for Women in the Seafood Industry (WSI), women in the fisheries sector have been largely ignored by leaders and policy makers. The findings of this GESI Analysis are intended to contribute to raising awareness and increasing visibility and recognition of women and traditionally disadvantaged groups in the context of regional fisheries management and policy. The significant amount of financing, time, and efforts invested in addressing IUU fishing in the Indo-Pacific region by USAID and other development partners need to include the promotion and systematic integration of women and other marginalized or vulnerable groups into regional fisheries policy and management decision-making.
Among the many recommendations presented in the GESI analysis, several cut across all domains analyzed. A regional hub to facilitate and coordinate the activities of organizations with potential partners; a certification program endorsed by local universities to provide training on gender mainstreaming to relevant stakeholders; and the collection of primary data related to large and small-scale fisheries in each country are standout recommendations that will begin to remediate the lack of information and action related to GESI issues in the region.
A key issue raised consistently by key informants is the absence of gender segmented data in fisheries management, particularly for small-scale and subsistence fishers. In addition, there is a need to undertake field research and primary data collection for small-scale and subsistence fishers, as well as disadvantaged groups such as migrant and stateless fishers. Migrant workers—especially women—are not recognized in most countries in the region and absent in most datasets, and information about the relative catch contribution of stateless fishers such as the Sama-Bajau, toward regional fisheries is largely unknown.
The ratification of international instruments such as the ILO C188 and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (ICMW) are critical to ensure the human rights of forced labor and migrants are addressed. Currently, only Thailand has ratified the ILO C188 in the
region, while the ICMW has only been ratified by Indonesia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste, with Cambodia as a signatory member.
The SuFiA TS GESI Analysis recommends that equal focus should be given to the 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) that was ratified by all countries in the region including the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a key entry point to initiate dialogue with member states to monitor implementation of the General Recommendation No. 34 in the rights of rural women, including those working in fisheries.
This GESI Analysis recommends fostering partnerships with regional organizations and other potential implementing partners on primary data collection, harmonizing regional regulations with national laws and policies, awareness, and communication activities. These actions could be undertaken through the regional hub, which would facilitate activities to advocate for GESI-related efforts in regional fisheries management. Recommendations in seeking opportunities to provide further education and nurturing of future women leaders are also identified for consideration under the wider USAID SuFiA Project.
Though some of the recommendations may be beyond the implementation scope of SuFiA TS, it is hoped that other regional development partners may recognize and support the financing and implementation of such recommendations. USAID’s commitment to GESI integration in regional fisheries management contributes toward the implementation of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy and enhancing regional resilience to transnational threats such as IUU fishing and climate change. =
Until international legal instruments are adopted by all countries, the region will remain at risk of worsening the forced labor and migrant fishers’ circumstances.
1. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines)
2. This includes people engaged on a full-time, part-time, and occasional basis.
3. Includes both ASEAN and CTI-CFF member countries.
4. The remaining 53% comes from aquaculture production (of which 46% from aquaculture and 7% from inland capture fisheries).
5. Secondary fisheries include fishers exclusively involved in fishery related activities in the pre- or post-harvest sector.
6. “Global Gender and Environment Outlook.” UN Environment Programme (UNEP) 2016.
7. Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Lake Victoria (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania), Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Philippines, Senegal, Thailand, and Vietnam.
8. Gleaning is the collection of marine organisms predominantly from the littoral zone. It is an important livelihood activity for the rural poor in coastal regions of developing countries.
9. ADS Chapter 205 – Integrating Gender Equality and Female Empowerment in USAID’s Program Cycle (updated 2021).
10. ADS Chapter 201 – Suggested Approaches for Integrating Inclusive Development Across the Program Cycle in Mission Operations: Additional Help for ADS 201 (2018).
11. Signatory to a treaty is a State that provided a preliminary endorsement of the instrument and its intent to examine the treaty domestically and consider ratifying it.
12. Article 1 of the C188 refers commercial fishing to mean all fishing operations, including fishing operations on rivers, lakes, or canals, with the exception of subsistence fishing and recreational fishing.
13. CSO Briefing Paper on Ratifying and Implementing ILO Convention C188
14. Link to the SEAFDEC Gender Strategy: http://repository.seafdec.org/handle/20.500.12066/4861
15. Domains of fisheries labor: Small-scale fisheries value chain, industrial fisheries value chain, reproductive and care labor, and professional women in fisheries management agencies, private sector fisheries companies, and in research and monitoring.
17. This is work that produces goods and services for exchange in the marketplace for income.
18. Refers to the activities needed to ensure the reproduction of society’s labor force. This includes childbearing, rearing, and care for family members including the elderly.
1 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), 1979
2 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICMW), 1990
3 Convention Concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour, 1930 (No.29) “Forced Labour Convention”
4 Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention (1930) - P029 (entered into force in 2016)
5 Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (1957)
6 International Labour Organization (ILO) C188Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188)
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