The hidden contribution of women to small-scale fisheries in a changing climate: A case study from coastal Kenya

While women represent 40% of the small-scale fisheries (SSF) workforce, their participation 
in this sector has long been invisible, ignored, and unrecognized. This lack of attention to 
women’s roles in SSF results in a major gender data gap, with implications for fisheries 
management and climate adaptation. This oral presentation aims to contribute to illuminate the 
role of women in the SSF sector through a case study in coastal Kenya in the context of climate 
change. Based on a 9-month ethnographic work in the South Coast of Kenya, my findings 
indicate that coastal Kenyan women are involved both in the post-production sector, either as 
fish processors, or vendor/traders, and in the production node. In addition, beyond the value 
chain itself, women are also largely in charge of family support and caring duties at home, 
which are necessary for sustaining the whole SSF sector. Through their multiple roles in the 
SSF economy and their local environmental knowledge, women contribute significantly to SSF 
social-ecological systems in coastal Kenya. However, they face significant barriers to 
participate in fisheries management, including socio cultural, economic, and institutional 
barriers, and specific restrictions to women’s access to leadership. Overall,  this presentation 
shows that women’s participation in SSF management is limited, thus challenging effective and 
inclusive management and adaptative strategies in the SSF sector. I conclude by providing key 
recommendations to achieve gender inclusivity in SSF through the systematisazion of gender
disaggregated data collection, recognition of women’s contribution to subsistence fishing and 
support to women’s participation in SSF management and   decision-making.