In order to support women's participation in aquaculture , effective access to credit is important. Women generally have limited access to formal credit as compared to men, largely because they rarely own property, which can be used as collateral. Access to large water bodies such as lakes, reservoirs and rivers are another issues to take into consideration. Women are disadvantaged in gaining access to these water bodies because it requires contact and connection with local official structures, which are highly male-dominated. The distance of these water bodies from the homestead also prevents women from attending to aquaculture activities frequently.
Women do play a considerable role and make substantial contributions to aquaculture.
A higher level of participation concerns women's involvement in decision-making and management. Women have some control over household finances in countries like Thailand and the Philippines, but male family members are the major decision-makers for large investments. Challenging traditional gender relations is often neglected or avoided in development projects because of the difficulties it entails, the conflicts it may generate within the household and the unpopularity of government policies that may result from it. However, the dimension of gender relations cannot be neglected if we aim to improve women's capability and increase food and other benefits to poor and marginal households through aquaculture. Participatory technology development offers more scope to incorporate women's experiences.