Importance of Maritime Association for Women Highlighted at Conference

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, Mrs. Audrey Sewell, says the establishment of a ‘Women in Maritime Association in the Caribbean’, will play a major role in redefining the role of women in the development of that sector in the region.

Mrs. Sewell, who was addressing the opening of a five-day conference on the establishment of  the Association, being held at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort in Montego Bay, on April 13, said the policies are aimed at changing the experience and perception of women and men in policy formation, planning and decision making.

“This conference to establish a women in maritime association in the Caribbean is a timely one. The maritime industry, unfortunately, is one of the areas  viewed as a male-dominated area and in a strange way does a  dis-service to the many women who serve in the sector in the various capacities,” she said.

Mrs. Sewell pointed out that there are six  such associations in various regions, such as Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, in the Pacific Islands, in Western and Central Africa, Central Asia and East and Southern Africa.

She said the Caribbean, which has been lagging behind in terms of the formation of its association, will be joining an elite group of countries.

“The International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) decision to establish such an association in the Caribbean comes against the  background of Jamaica’s participation in the second  international conference on Maritime Women Global leadership, which was hosted by the  World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden, in 2014,” the Permanent Secretary said.

Applauding the women of the Caribbean who have been playing a pivotal role in the development of the Maritime industry, Mrs. Sewell highlighted the achievements of two Jamaicans – Deputy Director of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica, Mrs. Claudia Grant and Deputy Executive Director of the Caribbean Maritime Institute, Mrs. Vivette Grant.

Mrs. Sewell said she is hoping that at the end of the conference, when the Women in Maritime Association in the Caribbean would have been established, more women will enter the maritime field.

Representatives from 15 Caribbean states  are attending the conference, which  is being held under the theme: ‘Maritime Women of the Caribbean….Achieving Regionally…Advancing Globally’.