Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions
September 2025
Designing Gender-Inclusive Data Systems in Small-Scale Fisheries
Authors
Sarah J. Harper, Meryl Williams, Danika Kleiber, Mark Axelrod, Sangeeta Mangubhai, Elin Torell, Gonzalo Macho, Kafayat Fakoya, Nikita Gopal, Elena Ojea, Sarah Lawless, Nicole Franz, Maricela de la Torre Castro, Claudia Deeg, Madeleine Gustavsson, Ayodele Oloko, Molly Atkins, Xavier Basurto 
, Kumi Soejima, Alice Joan Ferrer, Maria del Mar Mancha-Cisneros, Carmen Pedroza, Afrina Choudhury, Philippa J. Cohen, Ben Siegelman, Kirsten Bradford, Amelia Duffy-Tumasz, Sara Fröcklin, Jennifer Gee, Kyoko Kusakabe, Sarah Appiah, Chikondi Manyungwa-Pasani, John Virdin, Sadaf Sadruddin Sutaria, Omitoyin Siyanbola, and Cynthia McDougall
, Kumi Soejima, Alice Joan Ferrer, Maria del Mar Mancha-Cisneros, Carmen Pedroza, Afrina Choudhury, Philippa J. Cohen, Ben Siegelman, Kirsten Bradford, Amelia Duffy-Tumasz, Sara Fröcklin, Jennifer Gee, Kyoko Kusakabe, Sarah Appiah, Chikondi Manyungwa-Pasani, John Virdin, Sadaf Sadruddin Sutaria, Omitoyin Siyanbola, and Cynthia McDougallType
Pages
Publisher
Gender equality is a ubiquitous national goal, yet some sectoral gender data gaps to support this goal persist. These gaps conceal women’s contributions and impede actions that would strengthen livelihoods and economic development, food security, and environmental sustainability. The small-scale fisheries sector is one example of this phenomenon. Building on lessons from the Illuminating Hidden Harvests initiative, the authors identify systemic changes and specific indicators needed to fill these gaps. Closing gender data gaps requires making the policy case and working across agencies to create an enabling institutional environment. Only then can data reflect and respond to the lives of the ~500 million people who depend on small-scale fisheries.
