Women at Sea: The Force That Moves Mexico

Being a woman and working in the maritime sector is a combination that decades ago was impossible to consider: men absolutely dominated the sector. Kimberly Durán, a safety officer on the Stingray boat and originally from Mazatlan, knows this. He lives it day by day. However, things have changed for the better.

“I no longer see women on board boats as a dream, it's something more real. There are a lot of women in the industry. We already have the first high-altitude female captain on the boat and I think the next step is for there to be more colleagues. There are more women in the educational system, administrative and in managerial positions in this industry. I think it will improve over time,” he said in an exclusive interview. “It's no longer a distant dream. We're in that process of making it a reality.”

Thanks to the initiative of the IMO (International Maritime Organization) to establish the International Day of Women in the Maritime Sector (May 18), the actions of the Federal Government of Mexico to join these celebrations and the efforts of companies, such as Grupo Industrial Durandco, the presence of women in the maritime sector is becoming more and more evident. And it is to be applauded.

This international day was celebrated for the first time just two years ago, in 2022, with the objective of creating an obstacle-free work environment for women in the maritime sector. For Luz del Carmen Loyo Hernández, Deputy Director of QHSE - Quality, Health, Safety and Environment of Grupo Industrial Durandco, who has been in the maritime sector for more than 20 years, is an important celebration, since “it is necessary to spread the idea that all women can be incorporated into this type of work that was formerly 'men only'”.

In addition, Luz says she is proud to see that her colleagues occupy important positions in the organization chart and show great work performance: “They are increasingly involved in this sector and they do so in an outstanding way. The activities that our colleagues are carrying out are not simple things, they require preparation and as such they have committed themselves and are doing very well.”

The date represents a great value for our country, since it allows us to make visible, from the first signs, the contribution of women to maritime history; from their participation in the Acapulco-Manila Galleon route during the 17th and 18th centuries, to the present.

This day commemorates all women in the sector and promotes their sustained employment, while strengthening actions on gender equality in favor of fulfilling the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal.

Wendy Selene Mejía Rodríguez, second cover officer, commented in an interview that the most rewarding moment of her career so far is “being respected in my workplace and, above all, being recognized by my team, who are mostly men.” In addition, she said she was grateful to the company where she works, since “they have helped me both in my training and in my professional growth. Day after day I struggle and have a new challenge and a new learning experience. I am very proud.”

Our country is committed to closing gender inequality gaps and to promoting inclusion and visibility actions; women in the maritime sector represent less than 3% of the global workforce. Of course, we want this percentage to grow over time.

Faced with this, Kimberly is optimistic and sees structural changes: “Every time I see that men are better adapted to having women on board. It used to be a little more complicated, they became protective or believed that mental resistance, not so much physical resistance, was like a setback for us and they have realized that this is not the case. Seeing what other colleagues have achieved in the sector, they are increasingly recognizing us.”

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