Women as Agents of Change in Efforts to Disrupt Illegal Wildlife Trade

Promoting discourse about women as agents of change in preventing illegal wildlife trade (IWT) can inform a more gender-balanced approach for conservation, crime prevention, and crime reduction. This chapter uses agency analysis to help identify where women serve currently, or may serve, as agents of change in IWT. Four roles exemplify women as agents of change: conservation scientist–activist, policy drivers, leadership/management, and rangers. Across the literature, women’s central status in communication networks—informal, familial, often rural—positions them for intelligence and information-sharing, which is critical for crime prevention. This chapter begins to help address how, when, and why women are agents of change in IWT.