October 8, 2020 — The representation of women on the boards of global seafood companies grew to 14.4 percent in 2020, up from 9.1 percent in 2016, according to a new analysis by International Organization for Women in the Seafood Industry (WSI).
WSI Executive Director Marie Christine Monfort told SeafoodSource that while this figure is the highest ever recorded, it represents just a modest improvement on previous years.
April 13, 2020 — The COVID-19 outbreak will impact women to a worse degree than men and deepen existing gender inequalities, according to a new analysis by WSI, The International Organization for Women in the Seafood Industry.
In addition to playing a major role in the global healthcare and care-giving workforce, women are also a key part of the food industry, and are currently working in more difficult circumstances than ever before, to maintain food security during the pandemic, the organization said.
March 22, 2019 — Women at work in the seafood industry is the focus of an international video competition that’s now open for entries. The scope includes all segments of the industry – fishing on boats, fish farming, processing, selling, managing, research, monitoring, teaching, and any related services.
It’s the second round for the contest that was launched last year by the Paris-based group Women in the Seafood Industry.
“Women are very numerous in the industry, but not very visible,” said Marie Christine Monfort, WSI president, and co-founder.
March 8, 2019 — A group of leading women from the seafood sector, including prominent figures in aquaculture, have called on more seafood businesses to actively promote gender equality.
An open letter, to mark International Women’s Day, was penned by nine women engaged in seafood communities and promoting gender equality: Marie Christine Monfort, president and founder of the International Association for Women in the Seafood Industry (WSI); Natalia Briceno-Lagos, project manager at WSI; Meryl Williams, chair of the gender in aquaculture and fisheries section of the Asian Fisheries Society; Jayne Gallagher, member of Women in Seafood Australasia (WISA); Leonie Noble, past president of WISA and Australian Seafood Hall Inductee; Editrudith Lukanga president of African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network (AWFISHNET); Tamara Espiñeira, coordinator at She4sea; Marja Bekendam, president of AKTEA; and Katia Framgoudes, spokesperson at AKTEA.
The letter states:
March 8, International Women’s Day, has become the day of the year to highlight what women do and review progress. Some workplaces have joined in celebrating this day, featuring heartening commitments to gender equality. But it is also frequent to see in the workplace the omission, forgetfulness or ignorance of what this day commemorates: the international day of women’s rights. We are living in a historic moment where the fact that women still participate in society and in the labour market on an unequal footing with men is more topical than ever. The seafood sector, in which at least 100 million women participate but wield little authority, is, like other male-dominated industry sectors, a fertile environment for reform.
October 9, 2018 — In 2017, WSI, the International Association for Women in the Seafood Industry, launched a competition to encourage women to video their experiences in the workplace and tell their stories. The aim was to increase awareness about their role in the industry and to recognize the value they bring to it.
According to WSI Founder and President Marie Christine Monfort, encouraging women to star in their own films was an uphill struggle at first, but gradually, the entries began to trickle in. Monfort said she was so impressed with the quality of the films – and the growing enthusiasm of women for a voice – that WSI decided to run the competition again this year, with a EUR 1,000 (USD 1,162) prize for the winner and EUR 500 (USD 581) for second and third place.
The resulting 15, four-minute films, which are available on the WSI website, give a powerful and fascinating insight into a variety of women’s roles and their thoughts and feelings about the world of fishing, fish farming, processing, retailing, and marketing.
“We were delighted with the breadth of the entries, which went some way towards showing the variety of work that women are doing within the seafood industry,” Monfort told SeafoodSource. “A lot of effort is being put into tackling illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing around the world, but we see WSI’s mission as tackling IIU – invisible, ignored, and unrepresented women.”
Monfort explained that one in every two seafood workers is a woman, yet women are over-represented in the lowest-paid and lowest-valued positions, with very few in leadership positions.