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