By
Alice Chambers |
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is hosting a global conference to celebrate International Day for Women in Maritime, which seeks to reflect, celebrate and accelerate the efforts towards a more diverse future for the maritime industry.
“The theme for this year is ‘Mobilising networks for gender equality’, highlighting the importance of collaboration and networking in achieving gender equality in the maritime sector,” said Kitack Lim, general secretary for IMO, on the conference taking place on 18-19 May and host eight regional Women in Maritime Associations. “The IMO-established Women in Maritime Associations are one example of such networks. They are paving the way in supporting women in maritime across the globe – and encouraging the next generation into the maritime industry.”
IMO will also demonstrate how women can be leaders onboard and ashore, do the heavy lifting, steer the future of shipping and be elite problem solvers.
The conference programme includes presentations on the road so far for women in maritime and how men can be allies for gender equality, a talk by WISTA International on the power of collaboration for a sustainable future, and a panel on the future opportunity for cooperation between associations.
“For more than three decades, IMO has been supporting gender equality through our women in maritime programme, seeking to empower women in the sector through training, visibility and recognition. The IMO works in partnership with many like-minded entities in this regard including IMOGEN – our maritime diplomats for gender equality, WISTA International, and internally within the Secretariat there is notable work underway by our cross-divisional working group on gender and diversity.”
Read: how women in maritime are overcoming gender bias