The Executive Committee of the Women in Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) International has paid a working visit to the Ministries of Transport, and Trade and Industry as part of activities marking the association’s three-day mid-year EXCO meeting in Ghana.
The courtesy call on the two government institutions was to appreciate the respective ministries for the continued support to the activities of its local chapter WISTA Ghana, and to have further deliberations on promoting the advancement of women in Ghana’s maritime industry.
According to the President of WISTA International, Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou, the association has partnered with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and member-states to build capacity of women through scholarships that provide soft skills for women career enhancements across the maritime value chain.
She stated that: “We believe that diversity, and more specifically the participation of women, can help promote the general goals of our industry which pertain to sustainability”.
A Deputy Transport Minister, Hassan Tampuli, applauded the leadership of WISTA International for steering the growth of the global association through an inclusive approach and fair representation from the various sub-sectors of the maritime industry.
He said the minister is very keen on the agenda for women empowerment in the industry.
Mr. Tampuli added that: “At the Port of Tema, the Director of Port is a woman, and we believe that she has opened the way for many more women.”
At the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the meeting focused on opportunities and gender-specific policies for women-owned enterprises and women in trade.
Deputy sector minister, Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah Adjei, pledged to collaborate with WISTA in their mutual quest to build the competence of women to close existing leadership gaps in the trade sector by empowering women to push for whatever they seek to achieve.
