Seafaring Industry not Only for Men, but Also for Women – MARINA

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) has reiterated its full support and commitment to uphold gender and development (GAD) in the maritime industry.

At the recently concluded seminar-workshop on GAD, the MARINA GAD focal persons across the country reviewed its efforts to make its GAD-related initiatives more gender responsive and agreed measures to progress its work on this aspect.

The seminar-workshop served as an avenue to enhance the understanding of GAD concepts and introduce the concept of gender analysis as an essential component and tool for gender mainstreaming in its relevant programs and policies for the maritime industry.

The MARINA gives women the rights and privileges as men and shows the world that women have a place and even excel in the seafaring industry. As a matter of fact, the MARINA recorded 73,027 women seafarers or almost 10% of approximately 1 million Filipino seafarers issued with Seafarer’s Identification and Record Book (SIRB) as of December 2018.

Hence, the Agency continues to showcase that women are at par with men in terms of working in the industry – showing an equitable and sustainable development with shared decision-making and responsibility by establishing its ‘GAD corners’ and implementing GAD initiatives in all of its regional offices.

Moreover, the MARINA, through its local chapter for Women in Maritime, has been campaigning for women to develop careers at sea and is actively involved in the promotion of equal rights for women in the maritime industry.

With the implementation of the 10-year maritime industry development plan (MIDP), the MARINA assured to mainstream GAD in its relevant programs, down to specific activities and policies, rules and regulations.

This year, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) BANNERS the theme “Empowering Women in the Maritime Community" for the 2019 World Maritime Day in support of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #5 which is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

The IMO has significantly progressed its work on fostering an environment where 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.

In line with these objectives, the IMO will conduct Women in Maritime Associations (WIMA) Asia conference in March 2019 which will be participated in by the Philippines through the MARINA. The proposed theme of the conference is "Empowering Women in Maritime: Charting the Course of Leaders in Asia through SDGs". The Philippines has been elected as a member of the WIMA Asia Governing Council and shall also serve as the Secretariat.

Finally, the 3rd International Conference in Empowering Women in the Maritime Community, in commemoration of the 30 years of IMO's Women in Maritime programme, will be held in Malmo, Sweden on April 2019.