UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF AN INCLUSIVE BLUE ECONOMY: THE GENDER AND - PDF document

UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF AN INCLUSIVE BLUE ECONOMY: THE GENDER AND CAPACITY IMPERATIVES GENDER PERSPECTIVE IN THE SHIPPING SECTOR Shipping is one of the sectors which intrinsically form part of the concept of blue economy as it is evolves activities which call for the use of the seas. While we at times tend to relate shipping only to the transportation of goods and passengers on ships, shipping is in fact composed of an array of other inter- connected activities and services which give the movement of ships on the oceans its true sense. The maritime sector involves, in addition to the carriage of goods and passengers, the registration of ships, ship management, marine insurance, ship financing, the port, ship building and ship repair and seafaring, to name a few. The maritime industry is in fact a cluster by itself. The stakeholders of the shipping industry are various, both from the private and the public sectors and with different if not opposite drives. The maritime administration, port authorities and law enforcement agencies have a very important role to play in the regulation of shipping activities and the implementation and enforcement of international conventions on safety and security of ships while the private sector gears its efforts towards investments and profit maximisation. The notion of sustainable growth which characterises the notion of blue economy requires the right balance to be struck between business imperatives and the necessity to protect the community and the environment from over exploitation so that the trade-offs foster a business friendly environment within sustainable shipping activities thereby meeting the objectives of a blue economy. Another concept which is more and more being highlighted within the blue economy theory is the notion of an inclusive blue economy. Shipping and the

maritime sector at large has long suffered from paucity in gender equality in te different activities it involves. Shipping is a sector which has traditionally been male dominated. Fortunately, through the last decades the different initiatives taken at international, regional and local level to encourage women to join this sector are progressively achieving a growing degree of success. International instruments and resolutions promoting gender equality and women empowerment and participation in all fields of economic activities, international institutions such as IMO establishing regional associations such as WOMESA have helped to sensitise women on the opportunities accessible to them in the different maritime activities just mentioned. The African Union has led the way on the African continent with the holding of several events around the theme of women empowerment, which is also viewed as a step towar ds achieving the goals of AU’s Agenda 2063 relating to the development of the African OE. The member States of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) have also, during the Conference held in Mauritius in August 2018, reaffirmed their commitment to an inclusive blue economy by promoting women economic empowerment, in line with SDG 5. As stated in the Balaclava Declaration issued in the aftermath of this Conference, “Gender inclusiveness, gender equality, rights of women and girls are essential for strong sustainable and balanced growth.” Women are hence more and more present in several spheres of maritime trade, whether as top management administrators in the maritime or port administration, as top executives in ship owning or ship management companies or involved at high levels of management in other ancillary maritime activities. It can even be said that women are now playing a

preponderant role in the development of the maritime sector as more and more of them gather knowledge and experience in this the different segments of shipping. The change in culture and mind set of local communities has helped a lot in bringing women in this new business environment. More efforts are needed however to ensure sustained support and incentives to encourage women to join this sector and this includes attracting women to opt for maritime focused education and training as the careers that may be embraced within the maritime industry are varied. The journey is still long before we reach the point where men and women will be equally represented in the shipping sector but in order to achieve an inclusive shipping sector and an inclusive blue economy, this is what we need to strive for. In Mauritius, very interestingly, the issue of gender imbalance in the maritime sector is minimal, if not inexistent. In both the private and public sectors many women occupy top management posts, whether in the maritime administration, in the port, at the level of marine scientific research institutions or ship owning companies, maritime training institutions or ship management companies. These women do make a positive difference in the decisions being taken within their respective work environment, adding value to the end product or service generated. Some of these women are creating a small revolution within the local maritime sector, as they ambitiously move forward with their innovative ideas to develop the maritime sector. What is much laudable on their part is that they are giving the opportunity to other women to join them in their respective business venture, acting as mentors and role models for the young female generation.

If there is one particular shipping activity where women are still very much lagging behind, this would be seafaring trade and this is a global trend. The challenges are many and still prevail, be it having to deal with narrow mindedness and prejudices of male chauvinists or physical and mental strains which living and working on board ships involves. However, more and more women are confronting and are overcoming these challenges and are joining the seafaring community. From the Mauritian perspective, while there is unfortunately no woman as rating or officer to date, there are many other women who have joined the cruise sector and are working on board passenger ships. Gender equality is well enshrined in the laws and culture of the country so that access to seafaring trade is available for all. What is to be changed is the culture and way of thinking the more so as the country’s economy is now geared towards the development of ocean based industries, where navigation plays an important role. Finally, it can be said that the development of shipping within the OE and the advancement of women within this sector are undeniably interlinked and interdependent. This inseparable relationship can only be benefit the development of ocean related activities and give all its significance to an integrated blue economy. Vanita Hosanee