2 results

WINSC - Providing pathways for the involvement of women in seafood industry development

Project number: 2016-409
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $42,960.92
Principal Investigator: Leonie Noble
Organisation: Women in Seafood Australasia (WISA)
Project start/end date: 31 Aug 2016 - 22 Jun 2017
:
TAGS
Workforce
Survey
Stakeholder
Leadership
Community

Need

Internationally it is well documented that despite having a high participation rate in the seafood industry women are very under represented in key decision making roles and have difficulty having their views heard and taken notice of. Other industries have found that supporting a greater involvement by women in decision making fora has provided industry wide benefits, and it is expected that such support would have the same result for seafood.

WINSC itself has recognised the need to better connect with all women in seafood, no matter what their roles may be. WINSC also needs to better understand and use anew technologies to improve communication, connection and support of women in seafood. This proposal seeks funding for 10 months to initiate and undertake the first stage of the proposed WINSC renewal process. This process aims to result in WINSC having capacity and capability to better connect with women in the seafood industry and to deliver support and services that help them to increase their profile, capitalise on and improve their skills and contributions as well as ensure better participation in key decision making roles.

WINSC also recognises the need to mainstream WINSC activities and to involve men as part of the network. In this context WINSC has identified an opportunity to support an annual Seafood Fresh Ideas seminar (to be held as part of Seafood Directions conference in the years that is held and as a stand alone activity in the years that it is not). This will be open to participants from the entire industry and will feature thought provoking presentations from futurists and innovative entrepreneurs. WINSC will explore the feasibility and practicality of this idea as part of the proposed stakeholder review process.

WINSC will also use the stakeholder review process to review the WINSC Bursary process to ensure that it meets the needs of WINSC and FRDC stakeholders

Objectives

1. To support the renewal of WINSC as a key organisation providing support to women in seafood through profiling their achievements and providing opportunities for personal development

Final report

Authors: Leonie Noble Emily Mantilla and Jayne Gallagher
Final Report • 2017-11-01 • 5.76 MB
2016-409-DLD.pdf

Summary

The Women’s Industry Network (WIN) was formed in 1996 by a group of women fishing in South Australia and that later evolved into the Women’s Industry Network Seafood Community (WINSC).  WINSC is a not for profit organisation to support the operation of the network. WINSC builds the capacity of its seafood women to contribute to their industry.
 
The objectives of WINSC are to:
 
▪ Recognise and enhance the skills of seafood women.
▪ Develop effective partnerships with government agencies and other industry stakeholders.
▪ Take a professional approach to all activities and relationships with other stakeholders.
▪ Create a supportive environment to ensure women of the fishing industry reach their potential.
▪ Actively encourage the involvement of seafood women.
▪ Provide community education on all aspects of the seafood industry.
 
Now that WINSC has been operational for over 20 years, it was time to look at the existing model and offerings and to determine if their needed to be a revitalised and renewed WINSC that better meets the needs of its members and to stimulate an interest for new members.

Women in Seafood Australasia - Understanding, supporting and promoting effective participation by women within the Australian seafood industry

Project number: 2018-174
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $201,500.00
Principal Investigator: Heidi J. Mumme
Organisation: Women in Seafood Australasia (WISA)
Project start/end date: 19 Sep 2019 - 19 Sep 2021
:
TAGS
Workforce
Training
Media
Leadership
Human Dimensions Research

Need

A comprehensive and wide ranging understanding of the current levels of engagement of women in the seafood sector will provide a valuable and ongoing resource to the wider seafood sector to increase women's engagement and participation.

To support and promote the value of fully engaged women participating effectively and helping to secure the future viability of the Australian seafood industry WISA needs to build critical skills of seafood women, delivered in a way that is accessible to them and encourages participation from rural and regional areas. This is particularly important for women under 30.

Researching (nationally and internationally) and better understanding the value of having greater diversity within seafood enterprises, associations, research agencies, at senior management, board and committee level will help WISA create an integrated online and offline skills development platform. The platform will need to be easily accessible by women, focused on the specific and particular needs of women and support and encourage greater participation by women in the seafood industry.

While there are resources available e.g e-leaders program there is a need for these resources to be reviewed and updated to target the specific needs of seafood women. Additionally, WISA needs to form strategic and mutually beneficial partnerships/alliances with other relevant organisations and networks and work with them to capitalise on opportunities provided through these partnerships.

Having skilled women is not sufficient to ensure that women are successful and effective contributors. It is also necessary to develop a specific pathway program for women to gain the confidence necessary to nominate and be selected for key management, board and committees. This will help seafood enterprises and organisations (industry, research and government) to increase diversity by enabling access to skilled women able to contribute to their success.

Objectives

1. 1 To create a baseline (quantitative and qualitative) against which progress and impact of WISA activities can be measured.
2. 2 To establish an online skills platform to provide access to training by women in rural and regional areas that will support greater diversity in seafood enterprises, research agencies and industry associations.
3. 3. To deliver the Women in Seafood Pathways program targeting at least 15 graduates initially.
4. To establish a communications and extension program to highlight the roles of women in seafood and the value diversity provides to the seafood industry and community.

Final report

Authors: Kirsten Abernethy Heidi Mumme and Karen Holder
Final Report • 2022-10-01 • 1.13 MB
2018-174-DLD.pdf

Summary

This FRDC project, Understanding, supporting and promoting effective participation by women in the Australian seafood industry, was pivotal for WISA in supporting its future direction as an organisation. Research undertaken showcased the significance of the roles and contributions of seafood women and exposed the structural and cultural barriers faced by women in the industry. The provision of a bespoke entry level leadership program for women using an online format has provided WISA with greater understanding of the professional development needs of seafood women and how to deliver these effectively. The popularity and success of communication and extension activities incorporated into three key events throughout the project, including presentations, panel sessions, webinars, workshops and networking events, met several objectives including: increasing industry recognition of the contributions of seafood women, highlighting the value inclusion and diversity provides to industry and communities, and identifying ways forward to shift structures and cultures impeding women’s participation and progression in the industry. Underpinned and supported by this project, WISA underwent a renewal including developing a strategic framework to deliver more to its members targeting the evidence-based needs of women in seafood, as well as transitioning to a new company structure which has resulted in a more effectively governed organisation.
Final Report • 2023-02-01 • 2.84 MB
2018-174-2-DLD.pdf

Summary

Women of the Australian Seafood Industry: Women’s contribution, their roles and what women need to succeed, reports the findings of the research component of the Women in Seafood Australasia (WISA) project: 2018-174 Understanding, supporting and promoting effective participation by women in the Australian seafood industry.
Women are an important component of the Australian seafood industry, present in every sector working in the supply chain and with the industry, and every organisation type. Until this project, Australia had little data on women’s contributions to the seafood industry and the roles women play. Furthermore, there was little industry-wide understanding of women’s experiences working in the Australian seafood industry, if and where there are inequalities and gendered differences in experiences, and where barriers lie to women fully participating and progressing in the industry.
This national project used a combination of data sources, including Australian Bureau of Statistics Census data, in depth key informant interviews, and an online survey, to reveal answers to these questions first asked by Women in Seafood Australasia twenty years ago.
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