Fishing industries around the world are currently undergoing a process of industrialization and commercialization. A similar story is unfolding in many fishing communities: large-scale industrial fishers who possess enormous capital and advanced technologies are threatening the lives of small-scale fisherfolk. The fishing industry in Lake Victoria exemplifies the detrimental impacts of economic globalization and evaluation of the role and status in this scenario is crucial for the future of Lake Victoria and its communities. According to the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project, approximately one third of the combined populations of the three countries are supported by the lake's catchments; much of this livelihood is based on the fishery sector. Development of such a valuable natural resources carries grave implications for millions of lives. Women represent 70 to 80 percent of those involved in the fishing industry of Lake Victoria. Over the last twenty years, Lake Victoria's fishery sector has witnessed a rapid transformation from non-commercial, local-level fishing to a commercial, export-oriented fishing industry. Trade liberalization and industrialization have "left the local community entrenched in poverty." The aim of this study is to examine how local women fish traders have responded to global forces of development, specifically focusing on how their roles and statuses have shifted as a result of commercialization, industrialization, and trade liberalization.