Record Details

The status of women’s empowerment in the aquaculture sector in Kenya

CGSpace

View Archive Info
 
 
Field Value
 
Title The status of women’s empowerment in the aquaculture sector in Kenya
 
Creator Adam, Rahma
Subian, Farha
Njogu, Lucy
 
Subject aquaculture
kenya
gender equality
women’s empowerment
fish
agency
 
Description Purpose
Women’s empowerment remains a key development challenge in Kenya. The purpose of this study is to attempt to understand the status of women’s empowerment and the key contributors to their disempowerment in Kenya’s aquaculture sector.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 534 male and female fish farmers from 300 households drawn from six counties in Kenya (Kakamega, Kisumu, Kisii, Kiambu, Meru and Nyeri). The Abbreviated Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI) was adapted to Abbreviated Women’s Empowerment in Fisheries and Aquaculture Index (A-WEFI) to suit the aquaculture and fisheries sub-sector. The adapted A-WEFI was then used to estimate and the status of women’s and men’s using five domains of empowerment (5DE) and a gender parity index (GPI). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Cramer’s V and sensitivity analysis as test statistics.
Findings
About 86% of the men and 80% of the women were classified as empowered. The mean score of the 5DE was 0.93 and 0.95 for women and men, respectively. In addition, 82% of the households achieved gender parity, suggesting that for such households, empowerment of men was no greater than that of women. Overall, the results suggest no major differences between the empowerment of women and men. Findings suggest areas of improvement in empowerment: when observed separately, women report lack of agency in production, resource, time-use and allocation and leadership.
Originality/value
This paper adapts the A-WEAI to the fisheries and aquaculture context, in bid to bridge the gap in standard women’s empowerment measurement methods in this area. Also, there are limited empirical studies on the multifaceted empowerment of women in aquaculture in Kenya. The findings are meant to serve as a point of reference for policymakers, as they develop gender-responsive intervention programmes, and in implementing gender mainstreaming in Kenya.
 
Date 2023-12-10T21:20:55Z
2023-12-10T21:20:55Z
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Rahma Adam, Farha Subian, Lucy Njogu. (30/11/2023). The status of women’s empowerment in the aquaculture sector in Kenya. International Journal of Development Issues.
1446-8956
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/135168
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDI-04-2023-0087
 
Language en
 
Rights CC-BY-4.0
Open Access
 
Format application/pdf
 
Publisher Emerald
 
Source International Journal of Development Issues