Anna Okon
The Head of Maersk Marketing and Business Development within the African region, Ms Anita De Werd, has said that the shipping company acknowledges the need to support women entrepreneurs for the development of the maritime sector.
De Werd, who stated this in her goodwill message at the 2019 World Maritime Day celebration hosted by the Federal Ministry of Transportation in Lagos, said: “We know that in order to fulfill our role in society as enablers of global trade, we need to advocate for women to have a seat at the table in our organisation and ensure women entrepreneurs have access to global trade.”
She said Maersk had developed a partnership agreement with SheTrades, an initiative from the International Trade Centre, to connect three million women entrepreneurs to the global markets by 2021.
De Werd commended Nigerian women operating in the maritime industry for being the standard bearers for the African continent.
She said, “About 400 years ago, Queen Amina led her community because she deserved to do so based on her capability and ambition, her gender was not a disqualifier.
“She was a fierce warrior, who personally led military expeditions of over 20,000 infantrymen to innumerable battles. She was innovative and brought great wealth and power to her kingdom.
“Queen Amina typifies the Nigerian woman today, who is hard working, open-minded and a fast learner. She is capable of leading and bringing prosperity to everything she does.
“On this day of celebrating the 2019 World Maritime Day, Maersk celebrates especially the Nigerian women, who hold top positions and inspire those around them.
“To Maersk, being a diverse and inclusive organisation makes us stronger, more resilient and insightful. It helps us to understand the present, better anticipate the challenges and opportunities that may arise in the future and better manage the transformation we are leading in the maritime industry.”
She added, “Some of the programmes we have are addressing the issue of unconscious bias. We all have unconscious biases, and without being aware we can unconsciously exclude people that are different or seen as ‘outsiders’ who don’t ‘fit the mold’. We are working on making the unconscious, conscious for our leaders.”
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