The second International Day for Women in Maritime was celebrated early at the 44th ASEAN Maritime Transport Working Group Meeting (MTWG 44) held in Da Nang. The meeting (9-11 May) discussed strategic plans to decarbonize shipping, enhance regional economic integration and improve the diversity and competencies of the workforce in maritime.
IMO's International Day for Women in Maritime is observed on 18 May each year to celebrate women in the industry. It promotes the recruitment, retention and sustained employment of women to address gender imbalance in the maritime sector, and highlights IMO's commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 (gender equality).
The ASEAN MTWG meeting was hosted by the Vietnam Maritime Administration (VINAMARINE), an agency under Vietnam's Ministry of Transport, and chaired by Hoang Hong Giang, the Deputy Administrator of VINAMARINE. In attendance were IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim; Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Xuan Sang; representatives from ASEAN Member States; and the ASEAN Secretariat. Also represented were dialogue partners from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United States of America, and other ASEAN partner organizations.
During his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the meeting, the IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim spoke about the second International Day for Women in Maritime. IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said: "This is the second year we are marking 18 May as a key moment in our calendar to celebrate women in the industry and to promote the recruitment, retention and sustained employment of women in the maritime sector." The theme of the Day this year is 'Mobilizing Networks for Gender Equality'.
According to the IMO WISTA Women in Maritime Survey 2021, women make up less than 2% of workers at sea (mostly in the cruise industry), and 29% across all subsectors of the maritime industry including, for instance, marketing, recruitment and port operations. Just 20% of the maritime authority workforce in Member States are women.
Much needs to be done to support women to achieve fair representation in the sector to be in keeping with 21st century expectations, and to ensure a balanced and diverse workforce that can help the industry move forward.
IMO is committed to facilitating professional networks to improve gender balance in the shipping world, including through the creation of eight Women in Maritime Associations (WIMAs) - in Africa, Arab States, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific. These offer mentoring, training, and other opportunities to support women in maritime and cultivate the next generation's interest in the maritime industry.
During the opening ceremony of MTWG 44, a Certificate of Professional Competence was awarded to Vietnam's first female machine officer, Ms Hua Nguyen Hoai Thuong. She graduated from Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport having studied Ship Engine Operations. It is not uncommon for women to study ship engineering in Vietnam, many go on to work in offices after graduating. Ms Hua Nguyen Hoai Thuong, however, opted for the engine room of an ocean liner. The determination shown by Ms Hua Nguyen Hoai Thuong in charting her career path in maritime is inspirational and will pave the way for other women to follow.
Discussions were held at the meeting about a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between IMO and ASEAN as a way of strengthening knowledge-sharing and of building capacity within the maritime workforce in the Southeast Asia region. It is hoped that such cooperation will also improve seafarers' welfare through competency improvements and the sharing of best practices, improving their safety.
IMO-funded opportunities at the IMO International Maritime Law Institute and the course, 'Women in Port Management', plus the Maritime SheEO Leadership Accelerator Programme that IMO launched last year, provide avenues for women in maritime to develop technical expertise and advance their careers.