Gender Mainstreaming and Fisheries in USAID: Barriers and Policy Recommendations

Abstract

Since the United Nations First World Conference on Women in 1985, the advancement of women’s rights in international development has become increasingly recognized as critical for sustainable development. In order to address the advancement of women’s rights, gender mainstreaming is used to integrate gender concerns through projects in natural resource management international development agencies. However, gender mainstreaming policies tend to evaporate within institutions leading to reduced implementation. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has upper-level policies to apply gender mainstreaming, though evidence of implementation remains limited. This paper reviews USAID gender mainstreaming policies using the USAID Sustainable Ecosystems Advanced (SEA) Project as a case study for examining complications and barriers to implementation. Interviews were conducted with all SEA Project staff and four implementing partners in Indonesia. Interviews were analyzed using a gender in the project life cycle framework to identify barriers and successes in implementing gender mainstreaming. Recommendations for strengthening gender mainstreaming policies within USAID at the project level are offered. These recommendations seek to reverse the policy evaporation that is occurring and create conditions within the project level that enable and support gender mainstreaming, leading to advancements in gender equity as well as enhanced conservation project outcomes.