Reflections on Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Northern Sri Lankan Crab Sector

Female participation in the Sri Lankan labour force remains at half that of male participation, even though women often complete more primary and secondary education than men.1 The percentage of economically active females has stagnated at around 35% for the past decade, and those who are active are more likely to be found in the informal economy.2

Because of this dynamic, the Market Development Facility (MDF) in Sri Lanka, an Australian-funded economic growth program, has prioritised understanding the constraints to female employment, intervening in sectors that have the potential to significantly impact women directly or indirectly, and monitoring the results of those interventions on women’s economic empowerment (WEE).

One of the sectors that MDF identified as having the potential to increase women’s participation in the labour force was the seafood industry in Northern Sri Lanka. Following a 30-year conflict, the North continued to exhibit higher rates of poverty and lower rates of female labour participation than elsewhere in the country. The seafood sector was relatively unsophisticated, with outside companies sourcing a wide range of species from the under-exploited Northern waters and processing the seafood elsewhere. MDF spotted an opportunity to potentially increase value addition and women’s employment by supporting companies to expand into Northern–based seafood processing.

This document shares reflections from formative research into WEE issues resulting from the new employment of female crab processors and from increased crab prices for women from crab fishing households in northern Sri Lanka. Qualitative research explored the social norms of female participation in the labour force, and the impact of increased income on women’s control over household income, workload, and spending patterns.