The Port of Richards Bay last week brought together captains of industry and various stakeholders within the maritime industry to discuss transformation and bridging the gender gap within the sector.
The session, held under the theme ‘Empowering Women in the Maritime Community’, was in celebration of World Maritime Day which is observed annually on 26 September.
‘This theme gives us an opportunity to raise awareness on the contribution of women in the sector,’ said Port Manager Thami Sithole.
Sithole said while major strides have been made within Transnet National Ports Authority and the country as a whole in enforcing gender balance, more work still needs to be done in this sector.
‘The international Transport Workers Federation estimates that women make up just 2% of the global maritime workforce. This is not a desirable number and must be increased.
‘We want to advance the interest of women in this area,’ he said.
He said there are a number of structured programmes in place to attract and retain females within Transnet, which include leadership development programmes.
‘Women are demonstrating to be more than capable of performing at the level of their male counterparts. It is therefore important for us as Transnet to advance their interests,’ Sithole said.
This was reiterated by the Director of Maritime Industry Development and Economic Regulation, Tsepiso Mashiloane, who said although the sector has over the years been known as a man’s world, the perception is slowly beginning to change.
‘We acknowledge the role of men in the industry and applaud the rising numbers of women in managerial positions, but a lot more needs to be done.
‘It cannot be that in the dawn of the fourth industrial revolution we as women have not found our place in the maritime sector,’ said Mashiloane.
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