Women urged to take up maritime

More Papua New Guinea women have been urged to take up careers in the maritime industry.
President of the PNG Women in Maritime (PNGWIMA) Emma Kaul made the call during the second annual PNG Ports Corporation managers’ conference last Friday.
She noted that there were no women at the executive level of the organisation, and no women present at the conference.
Mrs Kaul said this clearly demonstrated the gender unbalance was in the industry.
She said that though the highest number of members of the PNGWIMA was from PNGPCL, with a total of 33 members out of the current 53 members of the PNGWIMA, there was a long road ahead for the women to get to the strategic management levels.
Mrs Kaul said that she hoped that in the future, there would be more gender balance in the organisation and in the industry.
On a brighter note, Mrs Kaul said an increasing number of women were slowly venturing into this male-dominated field.
To counter this gender inequality, PNGWIMA aims to promote maritime professionals by conducting promotions and awareness about the types of jobs and professions available to women in the industry and potential and or opportunities for further training and education.
Mrs Kaul said this awareness and promotion was through physical visits to schools to lure girls to choose maritime career paths and also through training or workshops for members for further education and upskill.