Women in the Port and Maritime Sectors

Dwynette Eversley

A group of women, a majority of whom are stakeholders in the local maritime industry, met this evening at a forum organized by the Belize Ports Authority and Women in Maritime Association of the Caribbean.  WiMAC is a regional organization that was founded a year ago to bring women in the sector together.  The establishment of a Belize chapter also serves to unite coast guard officers and port workers to strengthen the cooperation network among women in the port and maritime sectors.  Dwynette Evrsley is vice president of WiMAC.

Dwynette Eversley, Vice President, WiMAC

“This is a meet and greet for women in the maritime sector in Belize, whether they are a seagoing part of the maritime sector or the shore based or the port workers shipping associations, et cetera.  And what we are hoping to do in building on the tremendous momentum and what the authorities in Belize have been doing to showcase the contributions of women.  This evening we are also showcasing what the women in the maritime sector have achieved and where we still have to go as a group working together.  All this of course brought together under the umbrella of Women in Maritime Association of the Caribbean which is a new association.  We just formed in April last year and we were formed in direct response to the need that was expressed for an association to have the interest of professional women in the sector, girls, young women at all levels in the sector, their issues, and we were also formed as part of a program that is an ongoing women in development program that has been ongoing for several years at the level of the International Maritime Organization which is really our parent and sponsor agency.  You know the International Maritime Organization is the UN agency responsible for safety of ships and pollution prevention and all the women who are in that room there this evening as part of the meet and greet work in this sector in some way.  We have tremendous things that we do in this sector to benefit our countries, to benefit our families but we also face some tremendous constraints.  The maritime industry accounts for a very significant percent of global trade and so on.”

The invitation of Eversley to participate in the forum coincides with Women’s Month.