We are thrilled that the International Maritime Organization – WISTA International Women in Maritime Survey 2024 is NOW LIVE!

Our team at Intent Communications Ltd worked hard on this survey and was able to deliver insights by comparing the new data with that from the original survey – the first comparative analysis of maritime gender-based data at this scale.

“As an industry, we need to actively create pathways for more women to pursue meaningful careers both at sea and ashore,” says Intent CEO Namrata Nadkarni.  “The 2024 IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey paints a nuanced picture of the realities women face across the sector and if we want to make real progress, we must use the insights from this data as the foundation for meaningful change.”

Here are some of the interesting takeaways:

– Women across both the public and private sectors are increasing in terms of reported employee numbers: 176,820 women in 2024 versus 151,979 in 2021, representing 19% of the total workforce.

– Although the total number of women has increased, the additional data collected from the increased number of respondents does show a downward trend comparatively.

– Women’s representation at the board level has increased across advertising, marketing and public relations, port operations & services, and ship brokers & charterers. Notably, however, several sub-sectors have experienced considerable declines in female representation.

– Women’s representation at sea remains very low at only 1% (2,223) of the 211,750 active seafarers reported.

– Women account for 19% of the total workforce in IMO Member States.

– Many governments and institutions have introduced gender equality policies, but gaps persist between development and real-world outcomes.

– Access to maritime education has improved, but barriers to career progression remain challenging.

You can download a copy of the 2024 report here