On celebrating being a woman
Last week I was invited to facilitate a workshop for a group of Women in Green Shipping. It was a wonderful and energising experience, followed by an event at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for International Women in Maritime Day 2024.
Now, in this day and age, when gender equality is increasingly a focus across sectors, does it make sense to still celebrate women separately from other genders?
I regularly have this debate at home with my father and my partner, who both think that if women fought hard to achieve equality, it means they shouldn't have separate privileges, including having a special day for them.
But especially after attending last week's events, I'm even more convinced that we absolutely need to celebrate women.
In the maritime sector, which is admittedly a new world for me, I was shocked to learn that many female seafarers are regularly harassed and sexually molested; don't generally have separate changing rooms or toilets on the ships; don't get given sanitary products; don't have adequate PPE that has been designed for women's bodies (an attendee shared how she once had to secure the only available safety PPE trousers - obviously designed for men - with electric cable ties)... and the list goes on, from disparities in accessing career opportunities to a lack of systematic mental health support.
So why celebrate women? Because it raises awareness.
These issues get talked about at different levels (at the event the secretary general of the IMO was present), and people come together and discuss solutions to reach true equality. And I think this needs to happen until women (and other genders) are put in a position to do their jobs in a safe and stress-free environment.
If you are reading this and are a man, ask your female colleagues if they think they have been given the same opportunities as you to do their jobs. And if they say no, ask them what you can do to help.
On my part, I'm an advocate of women in sustainability, and grateful for organisations like the Women in Sustainability Network (WINS) giving a voice and supporting women who share a passion for all kinds of sustainability.
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