Shoreham Port supporting Women in Maritime
Shoreham Port is part of a high-level Taskforce, established by Maritime UK, to work collaboratively with other businesses in the industry to promote women in the maritime sector. The first meeting took place on 21st February in London and was very well attended. The Taskforce aims to identify practical steps to increase the number of women in the industry and is committed to addressing fairness, equality and inclusion within the sector.
The UK Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani MP joined the first meeting, demonstrating government support for the initiative. Nusrat said “This Taskforce will be crucial in opening up the wealth of career opportunities in the maritime industry to women around the country. The UK has one of the most competitive maritime sectors in the world and with only 3% of the workforce being women, it is vital more take advantage of the exciting opportunities the sector has to offer. Today’s meeting will start the journey towards better understanding equality and inclusion in the sector and I want to see many more women taking up careers in maritime.”
Shoreham Port’s Director of Corporate Services, Nicky Goldsbrough was invited to join the Taskforce and commented “There is a strong business case for diverse organisations where both women and men have the opportunity to contribute and reach their full potential. The maritime industry is historically male dominated, so it is particularly important to promote the achievements and opportunities for women in the sector, as a catalyst for change.”
Fortunately Shoreham Port has many successful female role models to inspire and encourage others within the sector. From the top down, the Port has a diverse Board with four of the nine board members being female, including a female Chair.
Nicky added “The industry is missing out on the skills and value that women can bring to the sector. Raising awareness is crucial for attracting more women into maritime and addressing the skills imbalance. The creation of the Taskforce and momentum behind it is both welcome and needed.”
David Dingle, Chairman of Maritime UK said “I welcome the new Taskforce and look forward to its recommendations. The entire maritime sector needs to do much more to address gender imbalance.
Achieving a balanced workforce at all levels in the maritime sector will undoubtedly improve culture, behaviour, outcomes, profitability and productivity.”
