Women working across Papua New Guinea’s maritime sector celebrated International Day for Women in Maritime this week by sharing how they are shaping the country’ ports.
More than 80 per cent of global trade in goods is carried by sea, yet women make up less than 20 per cent of the maritime workforce worldwide. In Papua New Guinea, a country with one of the longest coastlines in the Pacific, closing that gap matters for the economy and for coastal communities. Strengthening women's roles in that work strengthens the sector and the country.
This year’s International Maritime Organization theme, From Policy to Practice: advancing gender equality for maritime excellence, calls on the global maritime sector to turn promises on gender inclusion into real action. In Papua New Guinea, that shift is already underway, with more women taking on leadership and technical roles across the industry. PNG Women are leading work across engineering, business development, safety, and project delivery.
The event provided an opportunity to recognise these contributions and reflect on how to further strengthen an inclusive workplace culture – one where women are supported to develop their skills, advance their careers, and encouraged to step forward.
Lae Industrial Park Manager for Projects for PNG Ports Corporation Limited, Ms. Eunice Dalton said “Leading project works at Lae Industrial Park is not where many people would have pictured a woman from PNG a generation ago. Today, it is part of the job. My focus is delivering the work safely and on time, and every project I lead also tells the next generation of women that this sector is theirs too.’’
Through a Joint Implementation Unit between the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific and PNG Ports Corporation Limited, women across the country’s ports are receiving training, job opportunities, and leadership development. In West New Britain Province, women are playing key roles in delivering the Kimbe Port Rehabilitation Project under this unit.
The PNG-Australia Partnership will continue to back women in maritime through training, professional development, and long-term institutional strengthening, helping ensure ports across Papua New Guinea are run by a skilled and inclusive workforce.
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Women in PNG’s Maritime sector celebrate their International Day.
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