Gender Gaps in the Fisheries Groups in Southern Sumatra Indonesia

The southern part of Sumatra Island consists of the provinces of South Sumatra, Lampung, Jambi, Bengkulu, and Bangka Belitung. Generally, the growth of fisheries’ main actor groups is based on physical matters or oriented toward homogeneity or physical similarities owned by each member, such as age, gender, ethnicity, color, religion, business, and other physical characteristics. From a gender perspective, these groups have a gap between men and women. Among them are women’s representation in aquaculture and fishing groups. In addition, the male model in the processing/marketing group is also low. This role of women is caused by social and cultural constructions, role discrimination, stereotypes, marginalization of women in society, and women’s dual roles in public and domestic aspects of daily life. The socio-cultural building in question is that women are unlikely to go out in the sea to catch fish. In certain ethnicities, women’s access to productive assets and sources of capital is limited, and women’s ability to improve knowledge and technology still needs to be improved. This paper aims to introduce the gender gaps in fisheries groups located in five provinces in Southern Sumatra in Indonesia. This study uses the gender analysis perspective approach. The roles of women and men in different fishery activities were described based on the gender analysis framework which is composed of an activity profile, access and control profile, and factors and trends. As a result, men dominate productive roles, while women dominate reproductive and household activities. Gender issues, interpreted as socially constructed differences between men and women, can affect key factors in sustainable livelihoods. Both men and women reported that their participation in socio-cultural activities is strongly linked to biology, with men taking on heavier labor associated with masculinity and women undertaking lighter activities. Understanding and including women’s practical and strategic needs is critical to improving the effectiveness of development and the spread of its benefits. Keywords: gender gaps, fisheries groups, Southern Sumatra