World Maritime Day will be celebrated on Thursday (September 26, 2019) under the theme “Empowering Women in the Maritime Community.” This theme was designed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to raise awareness on gender equality, and to highlight the important contributions of women, in keeping with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5).
In this regard, the Maritime Administration Department of Guyana will be launching the Women in Maritime Association Caribbean – Guyana Chapter (WiMAC) on the same day (September 26, 2019), at a simple ceremony at the Muneshwar’s Port Facility.
This Association is birthed from the Women in Maritime Association of the Caribbean (WiMAC) which was established in Jamaica in 2015, as one of the youngest of seven regional associations of female maritime professionals, established under the banner of the International Maritime Organization. Guyana is one of the member countries with Claudette Rogers, Director General of MARAD, as the country’s liaison.
Some of the objectives of WiMAC Guyana will be to raise awareness of careers offered in the maritime sector, and to advocate for capacity building and development in these areas.
According to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), today, women represent only two percent of the world’s 1.2 million seafarers and 94 percent of female seafarers are working in the cruise industry. Within this historically male-dominated industry, IMO has been making a concerted effort to help the industry move forward and support women to achieve a representation that is in keeping with twenty-first century expectations. It was with this in mind that organisations such as WiMAC came into being to safeguard the interests of women in this industry.
