13 The IMO: Gender Equality, the Promotion of Women in the Maritime Sector, and Global Ocean Governance

This chapter highlights the steps taken by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to promote gender equality in the maritime sector, in line with the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This is especially true of MDG 3, which stresses the need for governments to provide women with the skills and tools to bring about their own empowerment. In this way, women are able to provide for their families and generally to make positive, often vital, contributions to the economies of their countries. Employment in the shipping sector has been shown to provide women with access to a regular salary. This has a direct impact on the economic viability of the extended family structure, particularly in developing regions of the world.