Gender ASAP: Mainstreaming Gender Equality into Caribbean Fisheries

Over the course of 2020, EnGen Collaborative implemented activities under the Technical Support to Mainstreaming Gender Equality in the Fisheries of the Caribbean initiative of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM). The CRFM developed the initiative with generous funding provided from Global Affairs Canada, under the flyingfish subproject of the UNDP/GEF-funded project “Catalysing Implementation of the Strategic Action Programme for the Sustainable Management of shared Living Marine Resources in the Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf (CLME+ Project)”. The overall goal of the initiative was to support commitments made on gender equality, youth empowerment, and decent work in flyingfish fisheries. While the initiative focused support to six flyingfish Member States of the CRFM—Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago—outreach, information sharing, and capacity building efforts reached all 17 CRFM Member States.

The EnGen Collaborative team worked closely with the CRFM Secretariat and Member States to gather information and data on gender equality, youth engagement, and decent work gaps and opportunities in fisheries. The team conducted in-depth analyses to identify entry points for cross-sectoral progress on these issues and interviewed 46 regional, national, and local level stakeholders to inform strategic priority areas and recommendations. From the research, the team identified four priority areas for mainstreaming gender in fisheries of the Caribbean, which formed the basis of capacity building efforts and action plan development:

• Priority 1: Enhance collection and analysis of comprehensive sex-disaggregated socioeconomic data in fisheries

• Priority 2: Increase understanding of the differentiated social and cultural factors impacting labour and poverty of women, men, and youth in fisheries, and gender-responsive approaches to address these issues

• Priority 3: Enhance cross-sectoral collaboration and knowledge generation on gender equality and youth engagement in fisheries

• Priority 4: Strengthen engagement with fisherfolk organisations and local level stakeholders on implementing gender-responsive approaches in fisheries

Due to the global outbreak of COVID-19 and the associated restrictions on travel, the EnGen team had to revise strategies for working with Member States for in-country capacity building and pivot to virtual engagement and support. Instead, the team promoted virtual capacity building webinars, discussion sessions, and training materials to stakeholders from all 17 CRFM Member States. The webinars and sessions shared the findings of the research, built capacity on gender and gender-responsive approaches in fisheries, and highlighted the experiences from gender experts and women leading gender-responsive fisheries efforts in the Caribbean.

The EnGen Collaborative team adapted to the uncertain global situation of 2020 to produce significant results under the initiative and support CRFM to advance gender equality, youth empowerment, and decent work in Caribbean fisheries, including:

• Raising awareness and building capacity of over 100 unique stakeholders in the region through four virtual capacity building and discussion webinars;

• Developing five technical research papers for CRFM, including on country awareness of and compliance to international and regional frameworks and traditional knowledge in fisheries, to help close regional research gaps and identify priority areas for mainstreaming gender in fisheries of the Caribbean;

• Drafting five national fisheries and gender action plans for Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago; and

• Collating findings to develop a regional Gender Analysis, Strategy, and Action Plan (Gender ASAP) for CRFM to facilitate action on gender mainstreaming over the next five years.  

EnGen Collaborative’s foundational work created momentum in CRFM on gender equality, youth empowerment, and decent work. Leveraging this energy, CRFM will continue its gender mainstreaming work and facilitate the implementation of recommendations from EnGen, including:

• Adopting and implementing the Five-Year CRFM Gender Action Plan;

• Mobilising financing;

• Coordinating regional actors on gender mainstreaming in fisheries;

• Engaging, supporting, and coordinating national Gender Focal Points;

• Building capacity and knowledge-sharing; and

• Researching and collecting data across gender and fisheries issues.

**Team members for this project include: Margaux Granat, A.R. Emmett Boyer, Molly Gilligan and Melissa Luna