WEST AFRICA’S FISHER WOMEN ARE EXPERTS AT COPING WITH JOB INSECURITY

All along West Africa’s coastline, women play a vital role in the fisheries sector as processors, traders and distributors. But they face many challenges – like job insecurity, a lack of finance, availability of fish and child care – and they’re also vulnerable to shocks. Simplistic assessments by government and nongovernmental organisations will often praise their resilience in facing these challenges. But this masks the dangers inherent in some of their coping strategies, as we’ve shown in a recent study documenting their experiences in West Africa during COVID.