International Day for Women in Maritime 2025

Observed globally on 18 May each year.

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Join us to celebrate the International Day for Women in Maritime 2025!

An Ocean of Opportunities for Women Symposium

IMO is organizing a Symposium under the theme An Ocean of Opportunities for Women to celebrate the 2025 International Day for Women in Maritime. 

Date: 16 May 2025

Time: 2:00 pm

Place: IMO Headquarters, London, and live streamed on IMO's YouTube channel.

As part of the event, IMO will host the presentation of: 

  • Gender Equality Award Ceremony - Ms. Karin Orsel, nominated by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, will receive the IMO Gender Equality Award 2025, per the decision of the Council at its 133rd session. Find more information about previous Awards and winner here. 

  • IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey 2024 - IMO and WISTA International conducted the second global Women in Maritime Survey 2024. The Survey aimed at gathering important baseline data about women’s participation in the maritime and ocean fields. The final Report will be published in May 2025 and presented during the International Day for Women in Maritime. The results of the first survey, conducted in 2021, can be downloaded here.

Programme

Please find the programme below: 

13.30 – 14.00 -  Registration 

14.00 – 14.10 - Opening of the event 

  • Mr. Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General 

14.15 – 15.00 - Live Podcast Recording  

Moderator: Mr. Karanvir Singh Nayyar, Merchant Navy Officer & Filmmaker (India) 

Panelists: 

  • Captain Josephine Clark, President of the Australasian Marine Pilots Institute (Australia) 

  • Ms. Mariam Al Shaikh, Deck Cadet, Bahri (Saudi Arabia) 

15.00 – 15.15 - Presentation - IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey 2024 Results 

  • Ms. Louise Proctor, Deputy Director, Subdivision for Planning and Programming, IMO

  • Mrs. Elpi Petraki, President of WISTA International 

15.15 – 16.00 - Panel discussion - Ocean Conservation: Young People and Why Change Matters 

Moderator: Ms. Karen McVeigh, Senior Reporter - The Guardian (United Kingdom) 

Panelists: 

  • Dr. Kristal Ambrose, International Ocean Consultant & Founder of The Bahamas Plastic Movement (Bahamas) 

  • Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS, Director of the Marine Institute School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth (UK) 

  • Dr. Renis Auma Ojwala, Post-doctoral Research Associate, World Maritime University (WMU) (Kenya) 

16.00 – 16.30 - Coffee Break 

16:30 – 17.15 - Panel discussion - Navigating Challenges and Seizing Opportunities  

Moderator: Ms. Karen McVeigh, Senior Reporter - The Guardian (United Kingdom) 

Panelists: 

  • To be announced

  • Ms. Michelle Bentubo, Chief Operating Officer, Virgin Voyages (United States) 

  • Mr. Dominic Patterson, Executive Secretary, OSPAR Commission 

17.15 – 17.30 - IMO Gender Equality Award Ceremony 

17.30 – 20.30 - Reception 

Registration

Please find details on how to register here. 


More information about the event: Circular Letter No.4968

Social Media celebrations

IMO invites women in maritime and everyone in the maritime industry to celebrate the day on social media using the hashtag #WomenInMaritimeDay, tagging IMO on X; LinkedIn; Instagram; and Facebook.

 

Background

The IMO International Day for Women in Maritime is observed on 18 May every year. 

The day celebrates women in the industry and is intended to promote the recruitment, retention and sustained employment of women in the maritime sector, raise the profile of women in maritime, strengthen IMO's commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 (gender equality) and support work to address the current gender imbalance in maritime. 

IMO Member States, the maritime industry, and all others in the maritime endeavour are invited to promote and celebrate the International Day for Women in Maritime.