It’s 2023, and the days of men largely dominating certain field are not yet over. Aquaculture makes the case for one such industry.
The world population has surpassed 8 billion in 2022 and it is said to hit 10 billion by the end of 2050. The increase in population calls for an increase in food production, and over the past few years, the developed societies have been seeing an increase in the demand for protein. Our oceans currently serve as the largest source of protein but seafood hunting has already caused enough damage to marine life as it is. The only practical and sustainable solution to meet this demand is aquaculture, which replaces hunting with farming.
Despite the industry’s significant growth, women are grossly underrepresented and unrecognized in the field of aquaculture. The FAO report of 2022 illustrates that women contribute for only 28 percent of the workforce in the aquaculture industry, 18 percent in fisheries, and 50 percent in the pre and post-harvest components. India for example, ranks second in aquaculture, accounting for nearly 8 percent of global production and yet women account for less than 30 percent in the industry. The problem however, is not only with their participation ratios but also with their kind of work and pay.
In southern India, in states like Andhra Pradesh which accounts for 70 percent of the country’s production, the role of women is mostly limited to the collection of seeds of shrimp and desk jobs that involve managerial work and we rarely or never see women at the leadership positions, actually running the businesses. In the recent days, in areas such as harvest and fish marketing, educated and skilled women are taking the lead , delivering the work essential for achieving export quality. Although women are employed in the same ratio as men in harvest, they do not get paid as much as their male counterparts. To overcome this, governments need to address and acknowledge the gender gap and bring initiatives encouraging women to take part in aquaculture.
The importance of aquaculture as a field is only being realized now and the industry has a long way to go and the best way to combat the gender disparity is by encouraging more women to study aquaculture. With many women showing interest, progress has been made over the years and we see more women now than ever entering highly skilled employment such as bio scientists and similar research positions.
Women are not rare in the aquaculture industry, women in decision-making and leadership roles are, and we can’t emphasize enough the need for women at every step from the farm to the board room, in an industry like aquaculture. The industry has a vast contribution to SDG’s 2,3,12,13,14 and it’s missing out on a lot by not using the skills women can bring to the table.