ICSF's Women in Fisheries (WIF) programme has been working in several countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America since 1992, with the basic objective of strengthening the participation of women in fishworker organizations and in decision-making at various levels. Contact with fishworker organizations in the Latin American region has helped establish the fact that women of coastal fishing communities are not only actively involved in fishery-related activities but also help sustain the community and family in diverse ways. However, the work women do, income-generating or otherwise, is rarely recognized, or ascribed an economic and social value. Women are practically invisible at the decision-making level in fishworker organizations.\ud
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It is against this background that the Workshop on Gender and Coastal Fishing Communities in Latin America was organized from 10 to 15 June 2000 in Prainha do Canto Verde, Ceara, Brazil. The workshop brought together 36 participants-men and women- from five countries in the Latin American region, i.e. Chile, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico. Participants were mainly representatives of fishworker organizations and NGOs in these countries.\ud
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This document carries a report of the workshop. It also includes background papers from Chile, Mexico, Peru and Brazil that were prepared for the workshop, detailing the situation of women fishworkers in these countries and their role in organizational and decision-making processes.  (153pp.