On the edge of beautiful, blue ocean waters in coastal Kenya’s Kilifi County, boats float on the surface of fish landing sites. The fish-eating birds in flight above the boats are a breathtaking sight—and they immediately elicit a sense of tranquility.

Over the past few months, I have traveled to various fish landing sites in Lake Victoria and on Kenya’s coast to continue my research on socioeconomic factors leading to the exclusion of women in the fisheries sector.

Seeing Loreta sort and dry her Omena sardines at the shores of Lake Victoria in Western Kenya, one may dismiss this small, middle-aged woman as an ordinary fishmonger struggling to earn a living.