Tag: women in shipping

During a panel discussion at Posidonia last week, the WISTA Hellas ‘Women at Sea’ seminar, examined the challenges facing women seafarers as well as food for thought on how to support them throughout their careers. 

On the occasion of the first International Day for Women in Maritime on 18 May 2022, IMO held online a Symposium, featuring nine panelists; seven women and two male allies, to address what type of training supports a barrier-free working environment for women in maritime; how to enhance visibility for women in the workplace/environment; and recognition in the work environment of women's contributions to maritime.

MF Shipping's CEO and President of the Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners, Karin Orsel, stated that she sees increased collaborations within and outside shipping, addressing diversity issues which will help shipping tackle the challenges of Ukraine and decarbonisation.

To celebrate the first International Day for Women in Maritime, Maritime UK is launching the brand-new Global Women in Maritime Series. The Maritime Minister has welcomed the initiative, which will open up global dialogue on best practices and lessons learned from being women in maritime on either side of the world. 

According to data from the newly- published 2021 IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey Report, gender diversity in maritime is extremely fragmented by sector. The data demonstrates that women account for only 29% of the overall workforce in the general industry and 20% of the workforce of national maritime authorities in Member States.

The Mission to Seafarers has published a report called ‘Beyond the 2%, Women Seafarers and their Lives at Sea: Reflecting on Our Call to Care.’ The report is intended to act as a discussion document for the charity and other maritime welfare providers.

"Training-Visibility-Recognition: Supporting a barrier-free working environment” is the theme of the first International Day for Women in Maritime with the aim to highlight and celebrate the achievements of women in maritime and achieve gender balance. IMO is marking the occasion with a virtual symposium, the release of a women in maritime report and a social media campaign.

As AMSA focuses greatly on gender equity, it notes that the pros of women entering maritime are well known, as they bring a broader range of perspectives and strengths in the workforce and create a greater pool of talent to draw on in the face of a skills shortage.

Women are advancing up the Caribbean maritime career-ladder into senior positions, although more can still be done to ensure full diversity and encourage women to take up the myriad of maritime opportunities available, according to Claudia Grant, Deputy Director General of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ).

Mrs Päivi Brunou, Head of Cyber Security Technology, Wärtsilä Voyage, advises us to be open to new opportunities and keep up with new thing and trends. Sharing her career story, she explains how her studies led her to maritime industry and her current position in which she focuses on helping the teams to understand cyber security risks and opportunities and she encourages us to share the stories and lessons learned with regards to cyber security to stay better protected.