Towards a Gender Approach: Placing Women at the Center of Fisheries Community Development

Abstract

The paper presents the Philippine experience towards a gender approach, i.e., placing women at the center of fisheries community development. It gives the structural and historical determinants on the status of Filipino women. The government policies and programs for development and the involvement of women were highlighted particularly the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) 1993-1998, the Philippine Development Plan for Women (PDPW) and the Fishery Sector Program. The women's role in reproductive i.e., parenting and household management; productive referring to production of marketable goods and services to produce food and cash; and community service which refers to collective consumption of the community, were given emphasis in addition to the specific roles played by women in fisheries development. The needs and problems of women in their participation in fisheries activities were likewise enumerated. Some measures to address the needs and problems were recommended. It was emphasized that women's participation in development can be harnessed by institutionalizing gender-sensitivity and by providing technology and support services.