Assessing and Advancing Gender Equity in Lake Malawi’s Small-Scale Fisheries Sector

Elin Torell, Chikondi Manyungwa-Pasani, Danielle Bilecki, Innocent Gumulira and Gordon Yiwombe
Additional contact information
Elin Torell: Coastal Resources Center, University of Rhode Island, 220 South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA
Chikondi Manyungwa-Pasani: Department of Fisheries, Lilongwe P.O. Box 593, Malawi
Danielle Bilecki: Coastal Resources Center, University of Rhode Island, 220 South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA
Innocent Gumulira: Monkey-Bay Fisheries Research Station, Monkey Bay, Mangochi P.O Box 27, Malawi
Gordon Yiwombe: Salima Agriculture Development Division, Private Bag 1, Salima, Malawi

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 23, 1-17

Abstract: Women play important, but often invisible, roles in Lake Malawi’s small-scale fisheries sector. This paper augments previous research by exploring the productive and reproductive roles that men and women have in fishing communities and how this shapes women’s access and control over fisheries resources. Contributing to advancing the understanding of how to strengthen women’s roles in the fisheries sector, this paper reports on a qualitative assessment conducted in seven Malawian lakeshore districts. Data collected via focus group discussions, which included gendered resource mapping exercises, revealed belief systems and gender norms that shape men’s and women’s access to and control over lacustrine resources. While both men and women have access to lake and land resources, their roles differ. Men dominate fishing resources whereas women dominate resources that are tied to household management. While all value chain nodes are open to men, women tend to be concentrated in lower-value processing and trading activities. Social norms and values shape people’s access and control over communal resources. It is noteworthy that women who earn an income from the fisheries value chain have more access to savings and credit and have more equal household bargaining power.

Keywords: gender equity; rural livelihoods; empowerment; fisheries; Malawi (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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