254
K. Frangoudes et al.
general (general assembly). By joining of fi cial male-dominated fi shers’ organizations,
women succeeded in obtaining formal professional recognition and gained access to
decision-making bodies. The active role of women within male organizations also
gave them power.
Discussion
Women are the main stakeholders in shell fi sh harvesting. As a marginalized group,
however, they were largely unaware that what they did was real work and that the
resource could disappear. Women in fi sheries often fail to view their contribution as
true employment and fail to realize that family-based enterprises would struggle to
survive without this contribution. The lack of gender-speci fi c statistics in Europe
(Frangoudes et al. 2008a ) makes women invisible in fi sheries and reinforces an
image that minimizes their role.
In the case of Galicia, the participatory approach chosen by the fi sheries
administration, which targeted women, proved empirically successful. By helping them articulate their needs through training and express their hopes for the
future, they succeeded in building a social group. This, in turn, enhanced women’s empowerment and resource management. The process, which aimed at
improving governability in the sector, enabled women to better cope with their
most urgent concerns (Jentoft 2007 ) . The mariscadoras understood the dif fi culty
of their situation and realized that action was needed if they were to retain a
source of income. The other stakeholders were the cofradías and fi sheries authorities. The fi sheries authorities elevated the empowerment of women to a position
of importance and provided new tools for resource management. The cofradías
were required to participate in a licensing system that allocated property rights,
which was a huge change for them. The sexism that held sway in Spanish society
was also present in the cofradías . Their attitude towards female activity was not
always positive and, in some cases, women wanting to join certain governing
bodies were met with considerable resistance. A number of cofradías chairs were
strongly opposed to ceding power to women, a common feature of many other
organizations in Spain at the time, and tried to maintain traditionally sexist ways
of operation. However, some cofradías pioneered the change by placing women
in roles of importance, such as chairs of organizations, well before the administration imposed shell fi shers’ organizations on cofradías in Galicia. The mere
existence of cofradías made the transformation easier and, despite the shortcomings of these institutions, their presence on a local scale paved the way for future
scenarios.
National government had long disregarded the role of women shell fi shers, perhaps because they were so unusual in such a male-dominated sector. Neither artisanal fi sheries nor mariscadoras were considered signi fi cant within the context of
deep-sea fl eet development that absorbed the attention of the Spanish fi sheries
K. Frangoudes et al.
general (general assembly). By joining of fi cial male-dominated fi shers’ organizations,
women succeeded in obtaining formal professional recognition and gained access to
decision-making bodies. The active role of women within male organizations also
gave them power.
Discussion
Women are the main stakeholders in shell fi sh harvesting. As a marginalized group,
however, they were largely unaware that what they did was real work and that the
resource could disappear. Women in fi sheries often fail to view their contribution as
true employment and fail to realize that family-based enterprises would struggle to
survive without this contribution. The lack of gender-speci fi c statistics in Europe
(Frangoudes et al. 2008a ) makes women invisible in fi sheries and reinforces an
image that minimizes their role.
In the case of Galicia, the participatory approach chosen by the fi sheries
administration, which targeted women, proved empirically successful. By helping them articulate their needs through training and express their hopes for the
future, they succeeded in building a social group. This, in turn, enhanced women’s empowerment and resource management. The process, which aimed at
improving governability in the sector, enabled women to better cope with their
most urgent concerns (Jentoft 2007 ) . The mariscadoras understood the dif fi culty
of their situation and realized that action was needed if they were to retain a
source of income. The other stakeholders were the cofradías and fi sheries authorities. The fi sheries authorities elevated the empowerment of women to a position
of importance and provided new tools for resource management. The cofradías
were required to participate in a licensing system that allocated property rights,
which was a huge change for them. The sexism that held sway in Spanish society
was also present in the cofradías . Their attitude towards female activity was not
always positive and, in some cases, women wanting to join certain governing
bodies were met with considerable resistance. A number of cofradías chairs were
strongly opposed to ceding power to women, a common feature of many other
organizations in Spain at the time, and tried to maintain traditionally sexist ways
of operation. However, some cofradías pioneered the change by placing women
in roles of importance, such as chairs of organizations, well before the administration imposed shell fi shers’ organizations on cofradías in Galicia. The mere
existence of cofradías made the transformation easier and, despite the shortcomings of these institutions, their presence on a local scale paved the way for future
scenarios.
National government had long disregarded the role of women shell fi shers, perhaps because they were so unusual in such a male-dominated sector. Neither artisanal fi sheries nor mariscadoras were considered signi fi cant within the context of
deep-sea fl eet development that absorbed the attention of the Spanish fi sheries