The National Network on Women in Fisheries in the Philippines, Inc (WINFISH) gives recognition to gender champions who have surfaced women’s voices and dreams in the fisheries value chain in General Santos City and the Sarangani Bay area, Philippines. WINFISH features one male and six female gender champions who have and are continuously advocating the promotion of gender equity and women empowerment through their various works as policymaker, program implementer, fishery worker and entrepreneur, or as women’s group leader. They carry the banner which nudges both value chain players and enablers to embrace the gender lens, if fisheries management is to become inclusive and sustainable.
It takes gender champions to raise the torch on the importance of gender mainstreaming in fisheries. They face challenges along the way, but they get through with their charismatic leadership and humbly sharing their time, efforts, and passion for gender equality in their respective communities and workplaces. More particularly, their works lead to combatting unreported, undocumented and illegal fishing as well as the implementation of a gendered Ecosystems Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM), to include Catch Documentation and Traceability.
WINFISH believes that there are many gender champions in the area and the field. Hence, WINFISH calls for more partners to bring the initiative of recognizing our fisheries gender champions through different platforms, and to keep burning the commitment of engendering the fisheries sector.
We salute our gender champions in fisheries …. they live the gender lens.
Empowered Women in Fisheries
