Navigating vulnerability and viability with an intersectional lens: the case of small-scale fisheries of Chiloé, Chile

Abstract

This dissertation explores the multidimensional gendered dimensions of women’s and men’s vulnerability-viability experiences in small-scale fisheries (SSF) in Chiloé, Chile, through three specific objectives: 1) to critically assess how gender is conceptualized within the vulnerability literature on SSF, and to develop a more nuanced framework for understanding multidimensional vulnerability, 2) to empirically analyze the multidimensional gendered experiences of vulnerability among women and men in SSF in Chiloé, Chile, and 3) to explore agency and empowerment dynamics- both individual and collective- towards viability among women SSF in Chiloé, Chile. To address these objectives, this dissertation combines a systematic scoping review with mixed-methods and qualitative empirical research. First, a systematic scoping review critically examined how gender has been conceptualized within the vulnerability literature on SSF and informed the development of a multidimensional framework for gendered vulnerability. Second, surveys (n=133), semi-structured interviews (n=33), and two participatory workshops were used to examine the multidimensional experiences of vulnerability among women and men involved in SSF in Chiloé. Finally, qualitative research with women in SSF explored the individual and collective processes of agency and empowerment that contribute to viability. The scoping review demonstrates that research on gender and vulnerability in SSF has expanded primarily during the last decade, with most studies focusing on the Global South and on pre- and post-harvest activities. While multiple theoretical approaches have been used to conceptualize vulnerability—including social-ecological systems, resilience thinking, political ecology, livelihoods, well-being, and poverty-marginalization perspectives—only a limited number of studies engage in a comprehensive gender analysis. Subjective dimensions of vulnerability, intersectionality, power relations, agency, and gender norms remain largely overlooked. In response, this dissertation proposes a multidimensional framework that conceptualizes vulnerability as the interaction of material, relational, and subjective dimensions across well-being, resilience, and access to capital. Drawing on Feminist Political Ecology, the framework further recognizes vulnerability as dynamic, intersectional, and embedded in everyday identities, aspirations, emotional experiences, and power relations while simultaneously acknowledging people's capacity for agency. Applying this framework to the empirical case of Chiloé demonstrates that women and men experience vulnerability in fundamentally different ways despite being exposed to many of the same environmental and socioeconomic stressors. Materially, men report greater negative impacts from ecological stressors, whereas women experience higher levels of food insecurity and health-related challenges. Women also display higher levels of adaptive capacity by diversifying livelihoods and actively seeking institutional support to respond to financial and personal difficulties. Relational dimensions reveal even more pronounced differences, as women's well-being is deeply shaped by caregiving responsibilities, household labor, and gendered divisions of work, while men rarely identify these responsibilities as sources of vulnerability. At the subjective level, women's experiences of vulnerability are closely intertwined with health, caregiving, grief, aspirations, and identities as both fishers and mothers. These subjective experiences influence how women navigate challenges, seek recognition, negotiate with institutions, and envision their futures. Together, these findings demonstrate that subjective dimensions constitute a critical component of gendered vulnerability in SSF yet remain insufficiently incorporated into dominant vulnerability frameworks. The dissertation further explores how women navigate vulnerability through processes of agency and empowerment. Findings indicate that women actively pursue livelihoods in SSF as alternatives to more limited employment opportunities while simultaneously accommodating caregiving responsibilities. Individual agency is expressed through occupational choices, livelihood diversification, and continuous negotiation with fisheries authorities, municipal institutions, and community organizations. Collective organization emerges as an especially significant source of empowerment. Women's organizations have generated both material outcomes—including shared productive assets and certifications—and non-material outcomes, such as expanded leadership opportunities, increased recognition, knowledge exchange, and stronger political participation. Most notably, participants identified their contribution to the enactment of Chile's Gender Equity Law in Fisheries (Law 21.370) as a major collective achievement. These findings suggest that collective empowerment reinforces individual agency, particularly through subjective dimensions of empowerment, strengthening women's capacity to influence decision-making and pursue more viable livelihoods. This dissertation makes theoretical, empirical, and practical contributions to gender scholarship in SSF by demonstrating that vulnerability cannot be fully understood through material indicators alone. Instead, vulnerability emerges through the interaction of material, relational, and subjective dimensions that are shaped by gendered identities, responsibilities, power relations, and opportunities for agency. By integrating Feminist Political Ecology with the recent vulnerability-to-viability transitions research and emerging literature, this research proposes a multidimensional framework that offers a more comprehensive understanding of vulnerability while highlighting agency and empowerment as central processes in pathways toward viability. These findings contribute both theoretically and empirically to ongoing debates on gender, vulnerability, and well-being in small-scale fisheries and provide insights for policies and governance initiatives seeking to foster more equitable and viable fishing communities.