IMO Renews Commitment to Gender Equality; WISTA International Approved for IMO Consultative Status

IMO Renews Commitment to Gender Equality
11 Jul 2018 https://www.porttechnology.org/news/imo_renews_commitment_to_gender_equa...

‘Empowering Women in the Maritime Community’ will be the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) World Maritime Day theme for 2019.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim proposed the theme, which received endorsement at an IMO meeting in London, to raise awareness of gender equality and highlight the increasing contribution made by women in the maritime sector.

The IMO will also renew its commitment to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, a UN initiative to ‘achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’.

Its aim is to end the root causes of gender discrimination and achieve equality by 2030.This movement has been the driving force behind the IMO establishing seven regional associations for women in the maritime sector across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific Islands.

Speaking on the SDGs, Secretary-General Lim said:

“This theme will give IMO the opportunity to work with various maritime stakeholders towards achieving the SDGs, particularly SDG 5, to foster an environment in which women are identified and selected for career development opportunities in maritime administrations, ports and maritime training institutes and to encourage more conversation for gender equality in the maritime space.”

WISTA International Approved for IMO Consultative Status
2018-07-06 https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/wista-international-approved-...

The IMO's governing body, the IMO Council, approved the Women's International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA International) application for consultative status on July 5.

"Consultative status gives us the opportunity to promote diversity, inclusion and women's empowerment, which are our main aims," said WISTA International President Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou. "We can now formally contribute to the discussion for increasing capacity in our industry, a critical component of which is promoting women in the industry, both shoreside and shipboard. WISTA's efforts support the overarching principles in IMO's Strategic Plan, especially the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women."

WISTA International has been a voice for female executives in the maritime industry since 1974. The organization has more than 3,000 members worldwide representing 44 National WISTA Associations. Most recently, WISTA continued its expansion in South America with the establishment of WISTA Peru, the second South American National WISTA Association to launch this year.

WISTA International has participated in a number of global initiatives aimed at increasing diversity and inclusion in the shipping industry. It partners with organizations around the world including the European Commission, International Chamber of Shipping, InterManager, Intertanko, World Maritime University, ISWAN, the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, and YoungShip to increase women's participation in the maritime industry in coordination with the U.N.'s sustainable Development Goal 5, Achieve Gender Equality and Empowerment for all Women and Girls.