Initially, a small number of women were to attend the meeting, but canceled at the last minute. Then there were no female delegates to be seen among the 48 men at the annual meeting of Fiskarlaget Nord. Chairman Roger Hansen thinks this is regrettable. – There are few women who are organized and who want to join. We must continuously work on it. I have faith in that, but it is not a quick fix, says Hansen. An internal power struggle More and more women are becoming fishermen, and in the last year the fishing industry has received a lot of attention for how women are treated. Fisherman Susanne Mortensen believes the Fishermen’s Association could have had more women in place if they had wanted it Photo: Hans Ludvig Andreassen Susanne Mortensen, who raised the alarm last year about harassment in the profession, is not surprised that only men gathered at the annual meeting in Tromsø. She believes that if there had been a will, the industry would have had more female representatives. – I think it’s about an internal power struggle. There is large coast against small coast, south against north. They argue about so much that getting women in is simply not a priority, she believes. Mortensen believes that good role models will help more women dare to join the industry. – So we must have women on boards. They can decide for the future. Then perhaps you should choose a future-oriented approach and allow the women to come in, because they have to start a place too. The power structure in the industry is so tough that other voices do not get in, says Øystein Hage in Fiskeribladet. Photo: NHST – Plenty of women to choose from Managing editor of Fiskeribladet, Øystein Hage, does not see the turnout as surprising either. – 95%, and perhaps more, who work in the fishing industry are men. It is nothing special that there are many men in the hall. At the same time, he thinks it is remarkable that there are no women at all, considering the debate that has taken place over the past year. There he believes Mortensen is right in his claim. – It is difficult to let in new and alternative voices. This is seen, for example, in relation to women. The power structure in the industry is so tough that other voices don’t get in, says Hage. He does not think that fewer women are unionized is a good explanation. – If the industry could look a little outside its own fixed framework, and consider other alternatives for management and care, then I think they have enough women to choose between, says Hage. State Secretary in the Ministry of Fisheries, Kristina Hansen, finds it disappointing that no women attended the annual meeting. Photo: Lars Åke Andersen Need to bring about change State Secretary in the Ministry of Fisheries, Kristina Hansen, is, however, surprised to only meet male delegates. She had thought there would at least be someone. – It was a bit disappointing that there were no female delegates, she says. There are some women in the fishing industry in the north, and Hansen believes that should have been reflected in the delegations. She still has faith that changes will be made in the future. – We must achieve this for the future, also together with the fishermen’s teams, says the state secretary.
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48 men and no women at the annual meeting of Fiskarlaget Nord – news Troms and Finnmark
