Examining the perceptions and attitudes toward Women's employment and leadership in the blue economy: A case study of India

The blue economy (BE) is a bedrock towards sustainable ocean transitions, coastal women's empowerment (WE), and sustainable development. However, in most coastal regions, empowerment challenges for vulnerable people, especially coastal women, have remained prevalent. With the increasing appetite for BE resources, concerns have been raised about whether women's exclusion in BE sectors will not perpetuated, amidst the masculine domination of employment and leadership opportunities in the BE sectors. A case study of India is utilized to explore the literature and understand the perceptions and attitudes towards women's employment and leadership in the BE. This study sourced literature and utilized a bibliometric analysis technique to analyze 1768 articles. The aim was to: (i) explore research trends, (ii) scientifically map literature, key themes, and networks, and (iii) highlight perceptions and attitudes towards women's employment and leadership in the BE of India. Findings revealed that research on the BE and gender issues increased. Research citations and impact are low or have plummeted. Most publications on women-related issues in the BE are in low-impact journals. Publishing gender-specific research in top journals increases the authors'/research's impact and visibility. Multi-country collaborations on WE in the BE are low. Historical gender stereotypes and negative attitudes are critical in determining women's employment and leadership in BE sectors. Themes/concepts that promote sustainable avenues for WE in the BE, such as sustainable development, blue equity and justice, uplifting of women's status, shared gender roles, and gender relations, are just emerging or declining. Socioeconomic empowerment through financial literacy is considered critical to WE in the BE. Promoting coastal WE requires grounded transdisciplinary research approaches/techniques. Positive indicators for women's employment are emerging, mostly in service sectors, some coastal nearshore and onshore activities. Employment opportunities are enormous in long-established sectors, but social sexism on gender roles persists. Institutional mechanisms, targeting WE and gender equity in the BE, are being streamlined. Emphasizing women's studies, community participation, and WE, especially in vulnerable regions like the Bay of Bengal, are recommended strategies. Although policy and research efforts to empower women in decision-making are increasing, women's input/relevance in decision-making is abysmal. Transformative indicators have hardly translated into holistic women's employment and leadership. A simplistic women empowerment pathway (WEP) (comprising five steps) has been developed to aid WE in the BE. Holistic WE could only be achieved in a phased and continuous manner. This should begin by redefining what WE in the BE must entail. This can help generate micro-level vulnerabilities, viable WE opportunities, and holistic inclusion mechanisms that could be replicated in other jurisdictions. • The Blue Economy (BE) envisions gender equity, but barriers have persisted. • Archaic perceptions and attitudes toward women exist in long-established BE sectors. • Pathways to overcome negative perceptions and attitudes toward women in the BE and tap into emerging BE sectors, e.g., ocean energy and research, should be prioritized. • The developed Women Empowerment Pathway (WEP) provides insights for sustainable women's empowerment (WE) in the BE. • Operationalizing WE in the BE requires the re-defining of the BE working definition to include WE perspectives.