What does it mean for a woman to work in the blue economy?
“It means working in an environment that remains male-dominated, despite the EU’s efforts to achieve gender equality at work by 2025.”
“It means you have to constantly prove your worth in order to establish yourself, which consumes a significant amount of your mental and emotional energy.”
Research has shown that in 2022 women made up just 22% of the 292,000 people employed in maritime transport at European level. According to the testimonies of the workers themselves, many of these women often experience “a constant anxiety that they have to prove their worth, especially during the first years of their careers”. The same feeling was shared by all 90 participants in the survey conducted as part of the European project “She4Sea”, in which Helmepa participates and aims to promote female employability and entrepreneurship in the blue economy.
To address the above challenges and achieve gender equality in the field of maritime transport, maritime tourism, fishing and aquaculture, six organizations from four European countries (Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Spain) have joined forces in the project She4Sea, funded by the Erasmus+ program.
She4Sea’s aim is to provide personalized career guidance to women interested in starting or developing their careers in the blue economy, offering training opportunities in in-demand skills such as leadership, entrepreneurship and sustainability.
More specifically, women have the opportunity to assess their skills and receive personalized career guidance proposals, through the special digital tool that will be provided free of charge on the project’s website. Based on these, they will be able to develop and improve skills that are important for blue economy sectors by attending She4Sea’s asynchronous training program, which will be provided free of charge in 4 languages (English, Greek, Spanish and Bulgarian).
