Master Marine director Fernanda Pierotti has been participating since last Wednesday, the 30th, in the Cayman Islands, in the 39th WISTA INTERNATIONAL AGM & CONFERENCE 2019, a global organization that connects women executives who work in the maritime sector.
WISTA International involves a network of more than 3,000 female professionals from over 40 countries, including Brazil. It supports women at management level, in the maritime, commercial and logistics sectors. In 2018, it obtained consultative status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO | IMO), a body linked to the UN.
“It has been an incredible experience to debate the empowerment of professional women who have contributed so much to the development of an industry that has long been limited to male leadership. We have already made a lot of progress and the present shows us that there is still a lot of work to do to strengthen the role of women in this area", said Fernanda who, together with Flávia Maia (president of NWA WISTA BRAZIL) and Fabiana Martins (co-president of NWA WISTA BRAZIL), is part of the Brazilian delegation at the event.
Among the themes of the event are issues related to the problems that affect the cruise industry, technical cooperation and a look at how gender diversity improves economic development and values around the world.
Attendees also hear more in-depth expert analysis of issues in autonomous transport and cybersecurity.
“We are having the opportunity, together with technicians, to examine the changes in the regulatory and commercial environment that will impact the future for professionals in the maritime sector around the world”, explained the director of Master Marine.
The female strength
The presence of women in the maritime sector has been growing year by year. The International Maritime Organization (IMO | IMO) has intensified actions on gender equality. Last September, IMO celebrated World Maritime Day 2019 with the theme “Empowering Women in the Maritime Community”. The date, which is traditionally celebrated in the last week of September since 1978, highlighted the importance of gender equality – one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
According to IMO, out of a universe of about 1.2 million sailors around the world, only 2% are women, with the vast majority of these women (94%) working on cruise ships. There is still a lot of gender imbalance.
Although the numbers present great challenges, it is possible to see changes. In the port of Santos, for example, women have been occupying not only administrative but also operational positions. And the logistic chain also shows that they assume functions previously restricted to men, mainly due to the automation of equipment.
This year, for the first time in the history of Porto Santista, a woman was named director of Engineering at Companhia Docas do Estado de São Paulo (Codesp), Jennyfer Tsai, a 33-year-old engineer.
The reality of Porto do Itaqui (MA) also draws attention. At Empresa Maranhense de Administração Portuária (EMAP), which manages the public port, of the 229 positions held, 82 are held by women, which represents 36% of the total. In management positions, the index totals 48% and is above both the national average (37%) and the public sector average (22%).
It is worth mentioning that the Manager of the Legal sector of the Port of Itaqui, Gabriela Heckler, is a member of the executive committee of Wista Brazil.
source: Ascom Master Marine
