Publication

Abstract : The Blue Economy is a crucial pivot in global development and the social inclusion of vulnerable communities for better livelihoods. To leverage the benefits of India’s Blue Economy, the government launched the Sagarmala program in 2015 to lay strategies for socio-economic development. In 2021, a draft of the Blue Economy Framework was developed for Blue Economy opportunities. Unfortunately, clear policies for the inclusion of vulnerable communities and women in the diverse and complex socioeconomic ecosystem of India are less satisfactory. The objective of this systematic literature review paper aimed at reviewing the main perceptions and attitudes toward women’s employment and leadership in the Blue Economy of India. The study employed a non-systematic literature review to explore studies and reports published dated until 2022 were reviewed to provide insights into the positive and negative perceptions and attitudes towards women’s participation in the Blue Economy. In a general context, some studies document an increase in the rate of acceptability of women’s employment and leadership in traditionally male-dominated sectors such as marine shipping, fishing, and tourism. However, the nature of jobs and socioeconomic benefits that women engage in are vulnerably hampered by traditional stereotypes, and in some cases a social preference to make women engage more in service sectors in some regions of India. The review concludes by recommending the generation of baseline inventories to create gender-disaggregated data and also a creation of a new pathway to create pathways for women’s holistic participation in the Blue Economy of India.