The Importance of Investing in Women in Aquaculture

Authored by Seafood and Gender Equality Founder, Julie Kuchepatov. The executing partner for Kvarøy Arctic’s 2nd Annual Women In Aquaculture Scholarship Program.

SAGE (Seafood and Gender Equality) celebrates its six month anniversary on April 13th. I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate than by supporting the official launch of Kvarøy Arctic’s second annual Women in Aquaculture Scholarship program that very same day! The Women in Aquaculture scholarships will award $10,000 each to two women (cis-gender or trans) currently studying an aquaculture discipline. They will also receive a paid opportunity to intern on the Kvarøy salmon farm in Norway, starting in 2022, for every year they are in school. SAGE is proud to be the executing partner of Kvarøy Arctic’s scholarships and support the future of women in seafood.

Why SAGE Was Founded

SAGE’s mission is to uplift, amplify, and integrate diverse women’s voices in global seafood production. We achieve our mission through education, advocacy, and communication about the issues of gender equality in the seafood sector. According to the United Nations, gender equality means that the different behavior, aspirations, and needs of women and men are considered, valued, and favored equally. As the founding director of SAGE and as a woman working in seafood for many years, I am thrilled to share the importance of these scholarships in creating a welcoming and supportive sector for people of all genders.

Why We Need to Amplify The Voices Of Women In Aquaculture

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food production systems in the world, and women made up 19% of the estimated 20.5 million people engaged in primary aquaculture production (on a full-, part-time or occasional basis) in 2018. When post-harvest operations data are included, it is estimated that one in two workers in the seafood sector is a woman and this number is estimated to be 70% in aquaculture value chains. The division of labor in aquaculture is gendered, so men and women do different tasks with women generally taking care of the day-to-day business of the farm, like feeding the fish or cleaning the ponds. Even though a high percentage of women participate in all aspects of aquaculture production – mostly in the secondary sector – knowledge about how women participate in the sector is scarce. Women’s voices are seldom incorporated into management decisions and their vast contributions to the sector are under-acknowledged and unrecognized.

The Financial Challenges Women Face

Globally, women in aquaculture face a lot of challenges. In addition to an invisible status in management and unacknowledged contribution in production, women in aquaculture lack access to financing for equipment or feed. In some countries, women cannot own property or operate a business. It was recently reported that not only did the total global funding for female-led startups fall in 2020, but the proportion of dollars to female-only founders also declined to 2.3 percent, compared to 2.8 percent, in 2019. This means that out of 100 percent of available venture capital funding, only 2.3 percent was invested in women-led startups. This sobering statistic reflects the difficulty women face while looking for financing in any sector.

The Need for In-Person Training Experience

In addition to a financial award, the scholarship recipients have the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on training at Kvarøy Arctic’s salmon farm in Norway through a paid internship for the duration of their schooling. Women often lack access to training or extension programs due to social or cultural norms. Because women’s contributions to farms are generally invisible or unacknowledged, they can be excluded from training opportunities about the latest innovations or best practice in aquaculture. Invitations are usually extended to men or the head of the household, regardless of how much he actually does around the farm.

Women conduct the majority of unpaid labor in the home, which also constrains their ability to participate in management discussions or training opportunities. Because of the reliance on women to care for children and other family members in need, women have left the workforce in droves due to the Covid-19 global pandemic. According to Americanprogress.com, “in September 2020, 865,000 women left the labor force in the U.S. —more than four times the number of men who left and more than three times the number of jobs gained by women that month.” It is estimated that, globally, it will take another 267.6 years to close the gender gap in economic participation and opportunity.

Supporting Women Around the Globe

Kvarøy Arctic’s scholarships themselves are different in that one is global and anyone from any country can apply. The other scholarship is specifically for a woman from an African country. According to the United Nations, the world’s population is expected to increase by 2.2 billion people between 2017 and 2050, reaching 9.8 billion people in 2050 and that half of the population growth will occur in Africa. Women fish farmers can play a critical role in food security for their families and their communities and grow smaller, nutrient-dense fish, which can contribute to their household nutrition, as well as personal income. Eliminating inequalities and promoting gender equality in aquaculture can lead to better nutrition and food security and help feed our planet’s growing population.

Recognizing Intersectionality

In order to create solutions that work for people of all genders, it is important to recognize how race, class, and gender interconnect and that everyone has different challenges due to their social and political identities – all of which require different solutions. This is called intersectionality - the “analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. Examples of these aspects include gender, caste, sex, race, class, sexuality, religion, disability, physical appearance, and height.” There is no requirement as to how these scholarships are spent, which is a recognition that each recipient has different needs and will be able to spend these funds accordingly.

The Immense Impact of Scholarships Like These

Kvarøy Arctic’s scholarships are a critical investment in women in aquaculture. The scholarship recipients will be able to take back the knowledge and first-hand experience they gain on the farm and share it with their communities, peers, and families. SAGE has lofty goals to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment in global seafood production and by partnering with innovative and generous companies, like Kvarøy Arctic, we are that much closer to achieving our goals. Please join us in spreading the word about these scholarships to any individuals or organizations who you think could benefit from these incredible opportunities so we can drive far-reaching, long-lasting impact.