Iqaluit (Aug 07/06) - A meeting on women's roles in hunting and fishing and their inclusion in hunters and trappers organizations incited some lively debate in Iqaluit last week.

Responding to existing low representation among women, Nute Arnayumayuq, a board member with the Iqaluit Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO), said he notices that more women are attending annual general meetings, but few females run for seats on the board of directors.

Joanna Kafarowski, co-ordinator of a study on gender and decision-making in Arctic fisheries and wildlife management, addresses the audience at a Frobisher Inn conference room last week. The Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association backed the project. - Derek Neary/NNSL photo On boards: The number of women who held seats on HTO boards in 2004-05 by region: Baffin: nine of 102 Kitikmeot: seven of 150 Kivalliq: 10 of 50 - Source: Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association

He said he doesn't know why, but maintained that discrimination is unlikely the reason. "We want to see women involved in all kinds of activities," Arnayumayuq said.

That prompted disagreement from Mary Akpalialuk, who happened to be sitting next to him.

"There's always a generation gap. There's male chauvinism sometimes, I see it," said Akpalialuk, who tried to get a seat on the Iqaluit HTO a few years ago, but failed to garner enough votes.

"It's almost always the same board every year."

She added that the elections are often held at 1 a.m. or 2 a.m., following everything else on the annual general meeting agenda. By that time most women have taken their children home, she said.

The exchange was one of a few to take place at the meeting, held by the Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association on Aug. 1. Joanna Kafarowski, project co-ordinator, said preliminary results of a four-year analysis show women's input in wildlife and fisheries decision making has been limited.

In 2004-05, for example, women held only 26 of 202 seats on HTO boards of directors across Nunavut, she revealed.

Surveys were subsequently conducted in Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet, Pangnirtung, Whale Cove, Iqaluit and Chesterfield Inlet to determine why women weren't more involved and whether the HTO boards encouraged diversity. It turned out that many women simply don't have the time or energy to participate. They are often employed, take care of children and the home while also being active with various other types of organizations, according to Kafarowski.

Some female survey respondents did express interest in running for HTO boards, but reported that they were discouraged by their husbands or friends.

Yet many current HTO members interviewed for the study, including men, acknowledged that women could bring certain advantages such as improved communication, better financial standing and enhanced relations with government representatives, Kafarowski noted. It was also widely recognized that women do play a role in hunting and fishing in terms of cleaning skins, cooking the meat and making clothes, she said.

To address the inequity, Pauktuutit is planning to bring female leaders together for workshops to form strategies. They will then take those recommendations back to their respective communities and share them on local radio, said Kafarowski. They will also make presentations to the HTO boards, she added.

Some possible solutions range from having a non-voting women's sub-committee on the HTO to mandating that half of all HTO seats are designated for women.

Whether these recommendations will be acceptable to the organizations will be up to the voting membership, Arnayumayuq said.

He agreed with another man in the audience who said it's important for Inuit harvesters to possess traditional knowledge. He also reflected on the past when men and women used to travel on the land together and procured food co-operatively. It was a holistic approach, he said.

"When we work together it's better for the Inuit culture," Arnayumayuq said.