Maritime Women’s Day passed silently

As the industry celebrates International Maritime Women’s Day on 18 May, disappointing figures point to the persistent gender gap in the sector. Indeed, women remain severely underrepresented.

Although in traditional shipping with tallships, women in executive and managerial positions are by no means the exception anymore, their numbers are still not balanced with those of men. This is also evident elsewhere in the shipping industry. Women make up only 19% of the workforce of IMO member states’ national maritime authorities and only 16% in the private sector (excluding seafarers).

At sea, their presence is even more limited, representing just 1% of all seafarers employed by the organisations surveyed in the latest report jointly published by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA).

The results are based on an analysis of a larger number of women working in the maritime sector in the public and private sectors: 176,820 women in 2024, up from 151,979 in 2021.

In particular, there was a significant increase in the number of participating member states. However, the most recent data show that women made up just under 19% of the total number of workers surveyed, compared with 26% in the reference group reported in 2021.

“The second IMO-WISTA survey on women in the maritime sector provides valuable insights into the progress the sector has made since the baseline data was collected in the 2021 survey. The increased participation of Member States and the industry in the survey is a welcome indication of a growing commitment to gender issues,” said Arsenio Dominguez, IMO Secretary-General.

“However, there is still a long way to go. Women’s representation is still disproportionately low and women make up only a small proportion of the seafaring workforce, which underlines the urgent need for continued commitment and action. We need to redouble our efforts to promote a truly diverse and inclusive maritime sector.”

The Women in Maritime Survey is designed to obtain concrete data on the state of gender diversity in the maritime sector and make recommendations on areas that need more attention.
“The intention is to stimulate change and provide a collective call to action,” said Elpi Petraki, president of WISTA International. “Attracting, retaining and promoting women – both on land and at sea – remains a priority for the future.”

“However, the new data also shows that opportunities for women across the sector remain limited due to barriers such as gender stereotypes, workplace safety concerns, a lack of family-friendly policies and the persistent gender pay gap.”

The report contains detailed recommendations on how member states and the industry can contribute to improving gender diversity in the maritime sector by improving recruitment and retention initiatives, expanding mentoring and leadership development programmes, strengthening policy implementation and ensuring a safe and supportive work environment.

IMO/Wista international’s entire report can be read here.

Source: World Cargo News.
Image: Bonaire.nu

Windassist sponsor