‘Use your power to empower’. ‘Say what you’re thinking’. ‘Listen to the ‘yes’ voice in your head’. ‘Believe in yourself’. This was the advice given by various inspiring maritime women sharing their experiences of working in the maritime world at a special event on ‘Women, ports and facilitation’ at IMO Headquarters, London, on 10 April.
The speakers presented and answered questions about their work and the future for women in the field, as they identified several key issues and recommendations. These include:
- The importance of promoting female role models;
- Increased access to education;
- Mentoring;
- Taking advantage of training, with the overriding point being that work promoting gender equality needed to be done by both men and women together.
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Introducing the event, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim highlighted IMO’s commitment to empowering women in the maritime community, which is also this year’s World Maritime Day theme. He also focused on the importance of getting ‘all hands on deck’, both male and female, for the maritime world to continue to carry the world’s goods in a clean safe and efficient manner.
The event, organized by IMO and WISTA, took place in the sidelines of IMO’s Facilitation Committee, which talked about the efficiency of shipping by addressing all matters related to the free flow of international maritime traffic.
