Breaking the Waves of Inequality: Understanding Social and Cultural Constraints on Coral Women’s Leadership

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-499-0_6How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Gender Inequality; Coastal Women; Leadership; Patriarchy; Empowerment

Abstract

Women in coastal communities play a vital role in sustaining household welfare and supporting local economies, yet their participation in leadership and decision-making remains limited. This study explores the social, cultural, and economic constraints that hinder women’s leadership in Bagan Deli Belawan, a coastal area in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Using a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, data were collected through focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and surveys involving members of Kesatuan Perempuan Pesisir Indonesia (KPPI) and local community actors. The findings reveal that structural barriers such as limited access to education and skills training, unequal access to capital, and restricted control over household income significantly reduce women’s opportunities to assume leadership roles. At the same time, cultural constraints rooted in patriarchal norms reinforce the perception that leadership and decision-making are male domains. Many respondents reported feeling undervalued in public forums, with some experiencing gender-based discrimination when expressing their opinions. Despite these challenges, the study also identifies strong aspirations among women to engage in community leadership, supported by emerging networks such as KPPI that provide social capital and advocacy platforms. This research contributes to the discourse on gender and coastal development by highlighting the intersection of structural and cultural barriers that limit women’s leadership. It argues that breaking the cycle of inequality requires gender-sensitive interventions that combine access to resources, educational empowerment, and cultural transformation. The study underscores the importance of integrating women’s leadership into coastal governance to achieve sustainable development and gender equality.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Ratih Baiduri
AU  - Sulian Ekomila
AU  - Tri Nur Putri
AU  - Okhotoda Yosefo Laia
AU  - Adela Sahfira
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/12
TI  - Breaking the Waves of Inequality: Understanding Social and Cultural Constraints on Coral Women’s Leadership
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies (ICSSIS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 58
EP  - 70
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-499-0_6
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-499-0_6
ID  - Baiduri2025
ER  -