THERE is a hint of clickbait about this week’s title – we at Lloyd’s List are of course very passionate about diversity in shipping.

But as the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association celebrates its 50th birthday at its annual meeting in Cyprus – the question of why shipping still hasn’t achieved gender parity loomed large.

Female representation in board rooms is a societal problem, but shipping is lagging behind even those modest numbers.

The statistics are damning, wherever you get them from, but the accepted number is 15% of women occupy executive leadership roles and just 2% of seafarers are female.

This episode is not to preach about the importance of diversity. Frankly that isn’t up for debate anymore. Instead, it will ask why our sector is so far behind others in this matter and identify some actual, tangible tasks that we can all do to make a difference today.

Progress has undoubtedly been made, but it is slow and the going heavy. The exhaustion and frustration could be heard in many of the women’s voices at the conference, even if their words reflected continued optimism.

So why is shipping failing, and what actions can be taken now to right course.

Speaking on this week’s edition:

WISTA International President Elpi Petraki

IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez

International Chamber of Shipping Secretary General Guy Platten