The second global Women in Maritime Survey is being conducted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA International). This Survey is run every three years to obtain baseline data on the number of women in maritime and oceans fields and the positions they occupy.
This Survey supports implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by having comparable data that will assist in creating programmes and proposing policies that will increase the participation of women in maritime. This helps in promoting a more diverse and inclusive environment in the maritime sector. A report containing the aggregate numbers will be available to all interested parties via the IMO and WISTA International websites.
The first survey was run in 2021 and the results can be downloaded here.
The current Survey will run from September to end-December 2024. The final Report will be published in May 2025.
About the survey
Data gathering for the report is carried out via two surveys:
Industry Survey: This Survey is designed to gather information from all entities involved in the maritime sector, regardless of size—from self-employed individuals to micro-businesses, SMEs, and large corporate entities. This includes companies, non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations, educational institutions, universities and private maritime training institutes/academies.
The Survey covers both land-based and seafaring employees. Even if your organization does not employ seafarers, your participation is still essential.
If you are responsible for or work in Human Resources, the Personnel Department, or if you have access to your organization’s employment data, please complete the Survey on behalf of your company or institution. Each entity should submit only one response.
The Survey can be accessed by clicking here.
IMO Member State survey: Member States have been invited via Circular Letter No.4842/Add.1 to each appoint a Survey Focal Point, who will be tasked with collecting the required information from the different entities/departments within their government and filling out the Survey.
The Survey link will be directly emailed to the registered Survey Focal Point for each Member State. These individuals will have access to dedicated information briefings and drop-in consultation sessions to assist in completing the Survey.Member States that have not yet registered a Survey Focal Point can use the link shared in Circular Letter No.4842/Add.1 to register their Focal Point by 13 December 2024. Upon registration, the link to take the survey will be emailed to you.
Any queries regarding the Women in Maritime Survey 2024 should be addressed to the following email address: WIMSurvey@imo.org.
Survey FAQs:
Who should be taking this survey?
For the IMO Member State Survey, the Registered Survey Focal Point should use the link emailed to them to fill out the form.
For the Industry Survey, this should be completed by the Human Resources department of the company/organization or a person with access to the employment data of the company, to gather accurate information.
This Survey should be completed only once by each company/organization/Member State.
What happens if more than one person from my organization takes the Industry survey?
Whenever possible, the company’s Human Resources department or a person with access to the employment data should complete the Survey. In the case of two responses, we will reach out to both responders to confirm which data set should be considered.
How many sections are there, how long will this survey take to complete, does progress save automatically?
The survey should take you about 20-30 minutes to complete if you have all the data ready for input. We recommend that you gather the information before you start the survey – Member States should see Circular Letter No.4842/Add.1, while industry participants can view survey questions here.
Data inputted may not save automatically on your form so if you will not be completing the survey in one sitting, we recommend signing in to a google account so that you can save your progress.
What should I do if the survey asks a question I cannot answer or I need to give you more information?
If any of the questions do not apply to the situation in your company/organization/Member State, please select ‘Does not apply’ and add any further commentary in the text boxes provided. If you do not have the relevant information, you can tick the “We do not have this information” box. If you have additional comments or clarifications for any of the questions, please use the box after each question or the general comments box at the end of the survey.
How long do I have to complete this survey?
The survey will be open until 23.59 GMT 31 December 2024. This is a survey that requires the collection of data to complete and, if you sign in with a Google account before filling it out, you can save the survey and return to it at any time. Once you have finalized the survey, you can submit it by clicking ‘Done’. Please note, once the survey is submitted no further changes can be made. Participation in this survey is voluntary and you may choose to withdraw your participation at any time by emailing WIMSurvey@imo.org.
Where can I get assistance about content or technical issues?
If you have any problems completing this survey, please contact WIMSurvey@imo.org and let us know what the issue is and provide details for the preferred manner and time to contact you.
