Presentation short abstract

This presentation discusses how gender, livelihood, and ecology intersect in Mexico. As environmental degradation intensifies women's daily work and activism are essential to building sustainable coastal futures.

Presentation long abstract

This presentation examines the interesting dynamics of gender, fishing resources, and environmental justice in Northwestern Mexico through the experiences of women shrimp traders who have long sustained local economies and household livelihoods. Drawing on nearly two decades of ethnographic fieldwork in Southern Sinaloa, it traces how women’s work contributes directly to food security and the creation of local informal markets. Despite their central economic roles, gender norms and state policies have historically restricted women’s direct access to shrimp and excluded them from actively participating in the local fishing industry. In response, women shrimp traders mobilized diverse forms of collective action to secure resource access and reshape gendered power structures. Their efforts include protesting discriminatory regulations, organizing a labor union, and negotiating space on one of Mazatlán’s busiest street, achievements that culminated in the creation of one of the city’s oldest and most iconic seafood markets.

While these mobilizations initially emerged from economic need, accelerating environmental degradation--driven by climate change, pollution, and coastal development-- has transformed their struggle into one central to environmental justice. Women shrimp traders now confront declining catches and ecosystem uncertainty, linking their fight for livelihood security to broader efforts to protect coastal ecosystems. Through everyday resistance, organizational leadership, and community activism, these women illustrate how gendered practices of social reproduction are inseparable from ecological well-being. Their actions underscore the importance of incorporating feminist political ecology into discussions of resource governance and highlight women’s indispensable role in shaping more equitable and sustainable futures in Mexico’s coastal communities.