Hindered, Overlooked, and Undervalued: Gender Equality in Nordic Blue Economies
The Nordic countries are ranked among the most gender equal countries worldwide. Equality, political, and civil rights, leading to the high participation of women in the workforce, have paved the way for this egalitarian view. However, women remain the minority in managerial positions in general, an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cogitatio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Ocean and Society |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8761 |
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| author | Josefin Ekstedt Kristina Svels Magnus Boström Madeleine Gustavsson Kristen Ounanian Katrina Rønningen Milena Arias Schreiber Sunniva Midthaug Solnør Cecilia Österman |
| author_facet | Josefin Ekstedt Kristina Svels Magnus Boström Madeleine Gustavsson Kristen Ounanian Katrina Rønningen Milena Arias Schreiber Sunniva Midthaug Solnør Cecilia Österman |
| author_sort | Josefin Ekstedt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Nordic countries are ranked among the most gender equal countries worldwide. Equality, political, and civil rights, leading to the high participation of women in the workforce, have paved the way for this egalitarian view. However, women remain the minority in managerial positions in general, and they are also strongly underrepresented in many male‐dominated sectors of the blue economy. The aim of this article is to introduce and discuss gender equality in the blue economy, and to assess the status of gender research in the Nordic context. To achieve this, a purposive interdisciplinary literature review resulted in three encompassing themes on how women’s participation is hindered, overlooked, and undervalued. Using these themes as an analytical lens, we propose that the underlying mechanisms are similar within fisheries, aquaculture, and maritime transportation in how they affect women’s participation. Still, there is a lack of statistics and research within parts of the blue sector. To move forward, there needs to be a shift in focus from policy to practice. One starting point could be to implement current knowledge, e.g., regarding workplace design and tailoring equipment to fit a diverse workforce. We call for scaling up best practices and evaluating policy performance and effectiveness. These are prerequisites for sustainable recruitment and retention of the blue sector workforce and the only way forward for countries aspiring to be truly gender equal. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d3ffd9e468bb4e3c878a24eec43a3545 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2976-0925 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ocean and Society |
| spelling | doaj-art-d3ffd9e468bb4e3c878a24eec43a35452025-08-20T02:02:57ZengCogitatioOcean and Society2976-09252025-01-012010.17645/oas.87613842Hindered, Overlooked, and Undervalued: Gender Equality in Nordic Blue EconomiesJosefin Ekstedt0Kristina Svels1Magnus Boström2Madeleine Gustavsson3Kristen Ounanian4Katrina Rønningen5Milena Arias Schreiber6Sunniva Midthaug Solnør7Cecilia Österman8Centre for Blue Governance, Aalborg University, DenmarkNatural Resources Institute, FinlandLinnaeus UniversityInstitute for Rural and Regional Research, NorwayCentre for Blue Governance, Aalborg University, DenmarkInstitute for Rural and Regional Research, NorwaySchool of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, SwedenInstitute for Rural and Regional Research, NorwayKalmar Maritime Academy, Linnaeus University, SwedenThe Nordic countries are ranked among the most gender equal countries worldwide. Equality, political, and civil rights, leading to the high participation of women in the workforce, have paved the way for this egalitarian view. However, women remain the minority in managerial positions in general, and they are also strongly underrepresented in many male‐dominated sectors of the blue economy. The aim of this article is to introduce and discuss gender equality in the blue economy, and to assess the status of gender research in the Nordic context. To achieve this, a purposive interdisciplinary literature review resulted in three encompassing themes on how women’s participation is hindered, overlooked, and undervalued. Using these themes as an analytical lens, we propose that the underlying mechanisms are similar within fisheries, aquaculture, and maritime transportation in how they affect women’s participation. Still, there is a lack of statistics and research within parts of the blue sector. To move forward, there needs to be a shift in focus from policy to practice. One starting point could be to implement current knowledge, e.g., regarding workplace design and tailoring equipment to fit a diverse workforce. We call for scaling up best practices and evaluating policy performance and effectiveness. These are prerequisites for sustainable recruitment and retention of the blue sector workforce and the only way forward for countries aspiring to be truly gender equal.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8761blue economyfisheriesgender equalitylabor marketmale‐dominatedsdg 5seafarersocial sustainabilitywomen’s participationworkforce |
| spellingShingle | Josefin Ekstedt Kristina Svels Magnus Boström Madeleine Gustavsson Kristen Ounanian Katrina Rønningen Milena Arias Schreiber Sunniva Midthaug Solnør Cecilia Österman Hindered, Overlooked, and Undervalued: Gender Equality in Nordic Blue Economies Ocean and Society blue economy fisheries gender equality labor market male‐dominated sdg 5 seafarer social sustainability women’s participation workforce |
| title | Hindered, Overlooked, and Undervalued: Gender Equality in Nordic Blue Economies |
| title_full | Hindered, Overlooked, and Undervalued: Gender Equality in Nordic Blue Economies |
| title_fullStr | Hindered, Overlooked, and Undervalued: Gender Equality in Nordic Blue Economies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hindered, Overlooked, and Undervalued: Gender Equality in Nordic Blue Economies |
| title_short | Hindered, Overlooked, and Undervalued: Gender Equality in Nordic Blue Economies |
| title_sort | hindered overlooked and undervalued gender equality in nordic blue economies |
| topic | blue economy fisheries gender equality labor market male‐dominated sdg 5 seafarer social sustainability women’s participation workforce |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/oceanandsociety/article/view/8761 |
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