Anita De Werd, head, marketing and business development, African Region of Maersk, has called for greater participation of women in the maritime and logistics sector.
She made the call in Lagos on Wednesday when Maersk hosted a group of young professional women in the maritime and logistics industry, as part of the company’s initiatives aimed at getting more women to participate and attain top managerial positions in the industry.
De Werd, who also led the women on a visit to APM Terminals Apapa, said Maersk chose to identify with young female professionals in the industry to enlighten them on its operations as the global integrator in container logistics and encourage them to build career in the sector.
“It is important to have more women in the logistics and maritime industry especially in Africa where we have a lot of capable women. What I have seen is that for a lot of young professionals, it is difficult to find out what is happening in the industry, and how they can play a role that could be fitting in the capabilities and interests they have. So, we have brought them together to sensitise them on who we are as a company with hope to ignite their interest,” she said.
According to her, Maersk is constantly addressing how to accommodate and help women professionals climb up the ladder of reaching top management positions.
“A lot of household decisions are made by women and if we don’t bring different perspectives to the table, then we are creating products that may not be fit for market, especially because women are important decision makers,” she stated.
Martin Jacob, managing director of APM Terminals, Apapa, who received the young women at the terminal, said the company is committed to promoting gender diversity.
“The port industry is typically seen as a male dominated industry but we are trying and pushing to change that so that women can compete effectively with men,” he said.
