“Men don’t feel comfortable with successful female leaders”: exploring participatory exclusion in community-based fisheries management, South Coast of Kenya

Abstract While community-based fisheries management (CBFM) is promoted as a promising approach to achieving sustainable fisheries management, its inclusiveness is increasingly questioned in the literature. Studies that explore the inclusion of gender along other intersectional social identities in CBFM are scarce. This research gap may limit a comprehensive understanding of power dynamics in fisheries settings, while reinforcing exclusive approaches in fisheries governance. In this study, we draw on literature on participatory exclusion, intersectionality and lived experiences, to examine gender-inclusiveness in CBFM through a case study on the South Coast of Kenya. We applied qualitative data collection methods, combining participant observation, semi-structured interviews ( n =18), focus group discussions ( n =6) and relief maps ( n = 32). Our findings indicate that women’s participation in CBFM is limited and systematically lower than men’s participation. Barriers to women’s participation in CBFM are complex and interlaced, including socio-cultural, economic, and institutional barriers, and specific restrictions to women’s access to leadership. In addition, our findings highlight the intersected nature of lived experiences related to CBFM places and suggest that CBFM may sustain and reinforce social inequalities in fishing communities. Overall, our results tend to confirm the relevance of the participatory exclusion concept to CBFM in coastal Kenya. Our study demonstrates the importance of applying an intersectional framework to study the complexity of power relationships in CBFM contexts, as well as fisheries management and governance. We conclude by providing key recommendations towards inclusive management approaches in fisheries settings.