France: a resolute mussel farmer

Abstract

Amélie Dennebouy has challenged gender stereotypes to become a successful mussel entrepreneur in Pénestin, France. “ We don’t employ women!” Just how many times Amélie Dennebouy, a mussel farm worker, heard that phrase since she began working in the sector at age 17, it would be impossible to say. “Ten years ago, I realised that it would be difficult to find employment in the production segment because I am a woman,” says Amélie. Stories flood her mind: managers laughing at her when she handed in an application for work as a production worker, pushing her to the sales department instead; the crude questioning of some: “Have you passed under the desk?