The Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association Limited (WISTA) and IMO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on technical cooperation to further promote diversity and inclusion through enhanced cooperation activities in the maritime sector, says an article published in Wista International website.
This comes in line with previous work by both organizations to enable more women in shipping. These activities will lay the groundwork for further discussion on how a diverse workforce will be essential for a sustainable future, according to IMO.
Implementation of IMO act
Initiatives already underway include a study to collect and analyze data on the number of women employed in the maritime sector.
This will facilitate in developing a database of female experts in a wide range of maritime subjects available for speaking engagements to make panels more diverse and supporting implementation of IMO Assembly Resolution A.1147(31).
Women empowerment in Maritime sector
The IMO theme 2019 “Empowering Women in the Maritime Community” was dedicated to women in shipping, providing the opportunity to promote diversity and inclusion in the maritime sector, as well as lay the groundwork for open discussion on how diverse workforce will provide for a sustainable future.
In addition, the theme has made evident that more actions need to be taken to reach the goal of a truly diverse industry.
Another key part of the MoU is to strengthen cooperation and share best practices between the IMO-established regional women in maritime associations (WIMAs) and WISTA International’s national WISTA Associations.
MoU between IMO and WISTA
The MoU was signed by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim and WISTA International President Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou.
Following this event, a WISTA information session was organized at IMO Headquarters in London to raise awareness of the work of WISTA International.
WISTA International, with consultative status with IMO, can formally contribute to the discussion for promoting women in the industry, both shoreside and shipboard, and also showcasing the varied technical skills and leadership that women bring to the industry.
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Source: Wista International
