The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) have launched the first ever survey for the examination of the proportion and distribution of women working in the maritime sector.
The survey is part of a series of activities aimed at laying the groundwork for further discussion on how to build a more diverse workforce within the maritime industry.
The data obtained by the survey will help build a picture of diversity and gender equality in the industry.
The launch of the study follows last year’s signing of the IMO-WISTA MOU on promoting greater diversity and inclusion through enhanced cooperation activities.
“Diversity in maritime matters. Empowering women fuels thriving economies across the world, spurs growth and development, and benefits everyone working in the global maritime community and beyond. We need solid data on female participation, as this will enable us to track and quantify our ambitions in what has traditionally been a male-dominated sector. I am pleased to invite all Member States and maritime stakeholders to take part in this important survey,” said IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim.
“Having comparable data is a key component when creating programmes and proposing policies that will increase the participation of women in maritime. It is an essential step forward in creating a more diverse and inclusive environment in our sector. With our global reach we can amplify the strength of this survey to show real results and back our drive towards an inclusive maritime sector,” said Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou, President at WISTA International.
The survey is open to IMO member states, IGOs, NGOs, public and private companies in the maritime sector and maritime training establishments. It can be assessed here.
The survey doesn’t seem to define who may qualify as women, i.e., whether this would include Trans people and those who may be biologically/anatomically male but may identify as female some time or all the times. Without clarity on this, it is very difficult to get data that would lead to any sensible understanding of the situation in the industry.