We create opportunities for local women to become ocean guardians.

POWERED BY WOMEN IN OCEAN SCIENCE X LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS

What we do

EMPOWER OCEAN delivers ocean literacy, marine conservation and dive training programmes to local women within small-island, coral reef communities. Developed by UK-registered charity Women in Ocean Science in collaboration with local stakeholders, we empower women with the skills, resources and confidence to take an active role in protecting their marine ecosystem. View our Maldives and Indonesia pilot projects.

  • Increasing access to conservation and dive opportunities, empowering women & girls with the skills and confidence to participate in the decision making process for ocean management.

  • Giving local female voices a seat at the table. Elevating ocean role models and conservation leaders, challenging gender stereotypes and inspiring the next generation of women and girls.

  • Increasing the resilience and protection of coral reef ecosystems by creating an intersectional, bottom-up approach to marine conservation through female community empowerment.

Why women?

Despite being shown to engage in more pro environmental behaviours and to disproportionately suffer the impacts of climate change, across the world there are a lack of opportunities for women to contribute to marine conservation, especially within small-island communities with persistent gender inequalities. EMPOWER OCEAN sets out to reframe attitudes around local women in ocean-based livelihoods, providing access and resources to transform female participation in ecosystem management and conservation.

Investing in women is protecting the ocean.