The Blue Economy (BuE) remains a male-dominated sector with women representing 29% of the overall workforce in EU Member States. The outlook looks even more dire in the maritime shipping subsector, where only 2% of the crewing workforce is female. However, with the European Commission placing a new focus on promoting gender equity, tides of change seem to be coming.
On June 14th in Averio, Portugal, a group of 14 partners from nine countries gathered to kick-off the WIN-BIG project. WINBIG will address gender imbalances and capacity gaps in the Blue Economy in Europe over the next three years. A specific focus will be placed on three emerging sectors in the blue economy: blue bioeconomy, blue sports and tourism, and marine renewable energies and robotics.
As a part of the project, a blue economy gender living database will be created with the aim of establishing a baseline understanding of the role women play in the BuE across Europe. Data shortages across many member states, make gender equity issues difficult to tackle. WINBIG will aim at changing this. Further, WINBIG will aim to empower women already working in the sector with new networking opportunities, learning labs, and increased visibility through a multi-faceted communications campaign.
SUBMARINER Network full member, S.Pro – Sustainable Projects, will take the lead on all capacity building activities. For more information, visit project’s website and follow the project on LinkedIn and twitter to stay up to date on all developments and see how you can get involved.
