Chandigarh Observed The First International Day Of Women In Maritime
There is nothing that a woman cannot accomplish. We’ve come a long way in terms of pursuing careers that were previously considered unsuitable for women. However, there is one profession in which women are still underrepresented: the Merchant Navy. There are some barriers to the job that prevent many women from pursuing it as a career. Nonetheless, a positive step has been taken toward making the Merchant Navy a more inclusive career option. On Wednesday, the first International Day for Women in Maritime was celebrated in Chandigarh. The main topic of discussion for the day was how to have maximum participation of women in this profession.
The theme of this celebration was ‘Training-Visibility-Recognition: Supporting a barrier-free working environment’.The day was observed by the International Maritime Organisation.
According to a news report, the Merchant Navy Officers Association(MNOA) of Chandigarh also harped on the importance of a barrier-free working environment in the merchant navy concerning gender equality. Also, the MNOA executive committee unanimously decided to have a platform to guide young girls from the region into making a career in the maritime industry, said the President of MNOA, TS Bhatia.
Captain Bhatia further elaborated on his statement by saying, the Association wants more girls to join Merchant Navy and the International Day of Women in Maritime should be a day to reflect on this issue as reported by the Times of India.
Captain K S Sujlana shed some light on the struggles pertaining to the job in Merchant Navy. She said that there are quite some challenging maritime activities for women, especially seafaring.
Meanwhile Simranjot Kaur Mann, Voyage Manager highlighted some other important issues like women’s literacy rate, lack of awareness, common misconceptions, and domestic commitments to be factors affecting less number of women in the Maritime Industry.
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I somewhat agree with Simranjot Kaur Mann. Also, the idea of women not being able to pull off certain responsibilities compared to men somewhere kills a woman’s spirit. It is very important for a workspace to be comfortable and not demotivating. We hope that this step opens up more opportunities for women in the Maritime Industry.
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