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Linking social wellbeing and intersectionality to understand gender relations in dried fish value chains

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Abstract

The purpose of this perspective paper is to advance a comprehensive framework to integrate gender within the study of dried fish value chains. We do so by linking three complementary areas of scholarship: social wellbeing, intersectionality, and value chains. Social wellbeing literature emphasizes the range of benefits generated through dried fish value chains (e.g., social ties, cultural values, and material goods). An intersectional perspective, however, brings attention to the relational structures (e.g., caste, ethnicity) that intersect with gender to uniquely position women and men within value chains in relation to the benefits they can generate. In developing this framework, a key point of departure from existing literature is the notion of relationality (i.e., the creation of experiences in relation to one another within a given context). The value chain analysis further reveals how such unique positions determine the wellbeing outcomes women can generate through their participation in value chains. We demonstrate the contribution of this novel framework by applying it within dried fish case examples from Bangladesh, Tanzania, and Sri Lanka. In doing so, we systematically unpack how gender intersects with other structures of oppression and perpetuate gender inequity. Our framework thus results in a ‘thick description’ of gender relations operating in dried fish value chains. The insights that emerge can inform relevant policies, decision-making processes, and programs to ensure the creation of equitable wellbeing outcomes by those participating in dried fish value chains.

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Notes

  1. Bavinck, M., Verrips, J., 2020. Manifesto for the marine social sciences. Maritime Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-020-00179-x

  2. Frangoudes, K., Gerrard, S., Said, A., 2020. Commentary Six to the Manifesto for the marine social sciences: gender and the role of women. Maritime Studies 19, 137–138.

    https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-020-00186-y

  3. Existing studies related to dried seafood value chains (i.e., invertebrates and other high-valued products such as sea cucumber, abalone, and shark fins) are largely concerned with the economic returns associated with the trading of specialized products destined for global markets (e.g., China, Europe). Such studies are therefore less helpful in understanding the significance of dried fish value chains toward supporting local livelihoods (beyond mere economic terms) with attention locally produced, traded, and consumed dried fish products.

  4. Although our discussion in this paper refers only to the gender categories of women and men, we acknowledge the need to move beyond the gender binary. Our attention to marginalized groups in fact may have relevance for transgender, nonbinary, and intersex identities.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and suggestions that significantly improved this manuscript. MG acknowledges the financial support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) through a Doctoral Fellowship (No. 752-2018-0193) and a Partnership Research Grant titled ‘Dried Fish Matters’ (No. 895-2018-1017). We are also grateful to Jeremy Pittman and Sisir Kanta Pradhan for the insightful conversations that shaped the ideas discussed in this manuscript.

Funding

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)—Doctoral Fellowship (No. 752–2018-0193); Partnership Research Grant titled ‘Dried Fish Matters’ (No. 895–2018-1017).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Change and Governance Group, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada

    Madu Galappaththi, Derek Armitage & Prateep Kumar Nayak

  2. School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada

    Madu Galappaththi, Andrea M. Collins & Derek Armitage

  3. School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada

    Prateep Kumar Nayak

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Galappaththi, M., Collins, A.M., Armitage, D. et al. Linking social wellbeing and intersectionality to understand gender relations in dried fish value chains. Maritime Studies 20, 355–370 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-021-00232-3

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