International Day for Women in Maritime

The culture of women operating in leadership roles in the Maritime Industry across the world is on the rise, and all efforts should be made to sustain this.

This was the message from Deputy Director General of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica, Claudia Grant, who addressed a Women in Maritime Association, Caribbean (WiMAC) webinar, on Tuesday, May 17.

The IMO Assembly in 2021 adopted a resolution proclaiming International Day for Women in Maritime, to be observed on 18 May every year. The inaugural day is tomorrow, celebrated under the theme ‘Training-Visibility-Recognition: Supporting a barrier-free working environment’

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 in an appropriate and meaningful manner. 

Women are advancing up the Caribbean maritime career-ladder into senior positions – although more can still be done to ensure full diversity and encourage women to take up the myriad of maritime opportunities available, according to a Jamaican maritime industry leader.

As the global shipping community gears up to celebrate the inaugural International Day for Women in Maritime on May 18, Claudia Grant, Deputy Director General of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ) said the industry is changing for the better and urged more companies to put in place gender integration policies to smooth the path for future generations.