"Maritime & Me" Campaign Targets Women

British maritime organization Maritime UK and the UK government’s Department for Transport (DfT) as well as the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) have jointly launched ‘Maritime and Me’, a new campaign to highlight the role of women in the maritime industry and encourage more of them to join the sector. The project is funded by the DfT and will focus on attracting more women to work in the maritime industry as well as on promoting jobs in the sector to a wider diversity of people. The campaign will also further highlight women already working in a wide range of roles within the sector and aims to inspire those in the early to mid-stages of their careers.

Within the ‘Maritime and Me’ campaign, Maritime UK, the DfT and ICS are working with WISE, a community interest company that provides potential career options and case studies for girls after they take an online personality quiz. WISE will develop a personality quiz specific to the shipping industry, as well as a teaching pack for those interested in a career in the sector. The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) suggests that women represent only 2 percent of the global maritime workforce.

An IMO spokesperson commented: “Shipping has historically been a male-dominated industry. However, IMO believes that empowering women fuels thriving economies, spurs productivity and growth, and benefits every stakeholder in the global maritime community. It’s especially encouraging to see developments like this galvanized by the focus we have put on gender equality through our maritime theme for this year.

“Through our own Women in Maritime program, IMO encourages its Member States to enable women to train alongside men in their maritime institutes and so acquire the high-level of competence that the maritime industry demands”.