IT has been 35 years! For the Jamaicans who were born then, 1988 may hold memories of a devastating Hurricane Gilbert. In the world of maritime administration, 1988 was the year that the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) created its Women in Maritime (WIM) gender programme. Thirty-five years ago, only a few maritime training institutes opened their doors to female students, and women in the industry, particularly in leadership positions, represented an extremely rare exception. Today the IMO continues to fly high the flag of the Women in Maritime programme as part of its mission to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

Yes, thirty-five years down the road, #gender is still trending. This is especially so in seafaring where worldwide, women represent only 1.2 per cent of the global seafarer workforce, according to the BIMCO/ICS 2021 Seafarer Workforce Report.

Since 1988, the IMO’s WIM programme has helped put in place an institutional framework to incorporate a gender dimension into IMO’s policies and procedures and has deployed a strategic approach towards enhancing the contribution of women as key maritime stakeholders. As an important part of this institutional framework, IMO facilitated the creation of professional networks to improve gender balance in the shipping industry. These networks, called Women in Maritime Associations (WIMAs), have been established in Africa, Arab States, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific, covering some 152 countries and dependent territories.

The Women in Maritime Association, Caribbean (WiMAC) set up in Jamaica in April 2015, is the fifth of eight global WIMAs. In this the ninth year of its existence, WiMAC (pronounced wee-mak) has seen four presidents. These are founding president Claudia Grant of Jamaica; Dwynette Eversley of Trinidad and Tobago; Tamara Lowe James of Dominica;and current president, myself, Dr Evette Smith Johnson of Jamaica. These women serve the maritime industry in diverse spaces, namely, maritime administration, policy development/advocacy and consultancy, country manager, international shipping company, and director of studies for maritime education and training.

The spaces from which the presidency is drawn represents only a fraction of the larger industry that WiMAC serves in over 15 Caribbean territories. Each territory has a national liaison/chapter that works with a 10-member governing council (GC) to promote the visibility of all SEAsters and engage in advocacy for the personal and professional development of women in the maritime sector. The GC is served by members from Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

A recent IMO/WISTA International Women in Maritime Survey reported that women comprise 29 per cent of roles in the maritime industry, and around 20 per cent of the workforce employed by IMO Member States in the sector are women, with only 14 per cent of technical roles being held by women. These figures provide a clear picture of the improvements that are urgently needed to ensure equal participation and representation of women in the maritime sector at all levels. WiMAC has work to do!

I picked up the WiMAC leadership in 2024, and aim to see growth in the organisation. This means more registered national chapters in the region. The WiMAC articles of association pertains to 15 Caribbean territories. WiMAC has established (or has started the process to establish) a national chapter in twelve of those territories. The active national chapter is the first of several strategies for growth for the membership of WiMAC. Other actions taken include the establishment of partnerships/ collaboration, eg, The American, Caribbean Maritime Foundation which provides several scholarships for females to study in our various maritime education and training institutions (METI). There is the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with the Caribbean Shipping Association for a special mentorship programme for women in the sector. The mentorship programme will be launched later this year. A MOU has been signed with the Port Management Association of the Caribbean to support corporate membership for women in ports across the region. There is also a fruitful MOU with the Organisation of American States, Interamerican Committee on Ports, that presents annual professional development webinars (some specifically for women).

The current WiMAC GC continues to seek out opportunities for regional/ extra regional internship and scholarship. The intention is to inaugurate student chapters of WiMAC in countries where METIs exist. The first student chapter has already been established in Jamaica at the Caribbean Maritime University. WiMAC is now looking to Bahamas, Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, which are all territories with METIs, for the other student chapters.

WiMAC hopes that with continued collaboration with various nation states in the region via their maritime administration, shipping associations and port associations, we will flatten the curve on the United Nation’s SDG 5, “to achieve gender equality for women and girls”, specifically in the maritime industry.

Happy International Women’s Day from the Women in Maritime Association of the Caribbean, where we continue to inspire inclusion.

Dr Evette Smith Johnson holds a PhD in education from Northern Caribbean University, Jamaica. She is an alumna of Florida International University and Shortwood Teachers’ College. She is a veteran educator and seasoned maritime education and training professional who continues to lend her voice and expertise to regional decision as president of the governing council of the Women in Maritime Association, Caribbean. Her research focuses on the maritime and logistics industry, with a concentration on education and training, quality assurance, market needs, and industry collaboration in the curriculum planning process. Dr Smith Johnson is the director of the School of Graduate Studies and Research at Caribbean Maritime University.