Women’s participation, challenges and problems encountered in major fish markets during the COVID-19 pandemic in Davao, Philippines

Abstract

Women fish vendors actively participate in the fishery sector but they face various challenges regarding their financial capital and opportunities. There is a power imbalance within the market as men seem to dominate and women hold no power or voice to protect their rights. This study provides valuable insights regarding the perceptions and experiences of these women in the Davao region, by not only focusing on the role of women in fisheries and major fish markets in Mindanao, Philippines, but also on their contribution and the challenges they meet. We have conducted semi-structured field interviews with women fish vendors (n = 99) and in-depth follow-up interviews to validate the results (n = 80). Among respondents, 90% in Tagum, 80% in Panabo, and 75% in Davao City were vendors who did not own their stalls. Despite women’s active involvement in fish trading activities such as fish vending, fish brokering, and financing in the market, many of them do not have stalls on their own. It was found that women participate in the fish marketing sector because they received previous training from family members involved in the business (29%), or they wanted a well-paying job (19%), or it was their only economic opportunity (14%). Another reason was profitability (9%) to support their families (9%) and children (8%). Common problems encountered by women in the fish market included a decline in customers (40%), work exhaustion due to the combination of their market and domestic duties (14%), and rude customers and employers (10%). In addition, women also reported challenges regarding mobile vendors (9%), low fish prices (8%), and not having access to financial credit (8%). Many of the women support their husbands by providing additional income for their families. Overall, women fish vendors play a critical role in the local economy of their villages and families. This implies that greater support is needed for women to have financial access to fishing businesses and become beneficiaries of training and livelihood development programs while helping their families overcome food insecurity and poverty.