Nusrat Ghani and Guy Platten, outgoing International Chamber of Shipping secretary-general were honoured at Wista’s 50th anniversary event in London
The Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association began when three London-based maritime executives met a pub in London. Wista has now grown to 6,000 members worldwide and has consultative status at the IMO.
Outgoing International Chamber of Shipping secretary-general Guy Platten and former UK shipping minister Nusrat Ghani were named Man of the Year and Woman of the Year, respectively, at a Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association dinner in London last night.
Wista celebrated its 50 anniversary on July 17, with a conference and dinner at the International Maritime Organization.
Ghani was a high-profile and popular shipping minister in the UK between 2018 and 2020, advocating for the hundreds of thousands of seafarers stranded on ships during the pandemic, as well as raising the profile of the international maritime sector through her work in parliament.
Although she was replaced during one of the turbulent former Conservative government’s many ministerial reshuffles, Ghani remained engaged with the global maritime sector and is frequently seen at industry events.
She is now standing for deputy speaker in the House of Commons.
“So many of you deserve the award, it really doesn’t really belong to me,” Ghani told the crowd. “There are lots of phenomenal women in this room. I know the secretary-general (of the IMO) talks about ensuring that you all have successful professional careers but I would say to the secretary-general: all the women are here, they just need men to vacate their spaces so they can take them.”
Platten was a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, and supported women’s advancement in the sector, UK Wista president Monica Kohli told the audience. “I’ve been called lots of things in my life, but never ‘Man of the Year’” Platten said.
Wista was formed in December 1974 when three London women met in a pub, and has grown to an international organisation with more than 6,000 members with consultative status at the IMO.
“I was a shipowner. I was a port operator. I built container terminals. One of my proudest statements was that I brought most Maersk containers to the UK,” said Margaret Llewellyn, one of the three founders who was present at the event. “We started off small, but we grew very quickly and all of you need to always remember that men are just as nervous as you are when they’re trying to make decisions and it’s just that you’ve got to be committed and enjoy your work.”
Wista connects women in the maritime industry across 59 countries, and accepts men in its membership.
“We want to attract new people into this industry… we have to have women take the lead and we have to lead by example, it’s not by playing the numbers that we’re getting to 50% parity,” IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez told about 320 people attending the event.
“For me and the IMO as well, it’s having women take the leadership roles and demonstrate they can do the job.” Dominguez said he declined speaking invitations unless there was a women present on the same panel he was on, as a matter of policy.
Article by Michelle Wise Bockmann. The original article is available here.
