Navigating beyond gender in the maritime sector

The report examines gender inequality in the African maritime sector, highlighting that current frameworks often equate gender equality solely with women's inclusion. It advocates for an intersectional analysis—considering race, age, and class—to address the systemic exclusion of youth and other marginalised groups. The document reviews African Union maritime instruments, finds a lack of implementation and data, and provides examples of gender-sensitive initiatives in fisheries and coastal management.

• The African maritime sector is heavily male-dominated, with women making up only 2% of the global maritime workforce. Women's roles are often restricted to administrative or junior positions, with only 10% in senior leadership, most of whom are chief financial officers.
• Existing maritime security and governance frameworks in Africa frequently omit gender integration or narrowly define gender equality as the inclusion of women, treating them as a homogenous group and ignoring other marginalised populations such as youth.
• Several African Union maritime instruments lack the necessary ratifications to enter into force or fail to provide practical implementation details. The Lomé Charter and the Revised African Maritime Transport Charter (RAMTC) have both failed to secure the required ratifications.
• The African Blue Economy Strategy (ABES) is identified as a positive step forward because it explicitly mentions the inclusivity of women, youth, and vulnerable people within its goals for fisheries and aquaculture.
• In the fisheries sector, a distinct gender divide exists where men primarily perform the fishing, while women handle 58% of the processing work and the majority of sales, though their contributions are often dismissed as domestic work.
• A critical lack of disaggregated data regarding age, race, and class makes it difficult to perform intersectional analyses or develop targeted policies for youth and other marginalised groups in the maritime sector.
• Professional networks and cooperatives serve as essential 'safety nets' for women in the male-dominated maritime industry, helping them overcome isolation and gain access to resources.

APA

Kumalo, L., & Reva, D. (2021). Navigating beyond gender in the maritime sector. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/AR-035.pdf

Chicago

Kumalo, Liezelle, and Denys Reva. Navigating beyond gender in the maritime sector. Institute for Security Studies, 2021. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/AR-035.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kumalo |first1=Liezelle |last2=Reva |first2=Denys |title=Navigating beyond gender in the maritime sector |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=September 2021 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/AR-035.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kumalo2021navigating, author = {Kumalo, Liezelle and Reva, Denys}, title = {{Navigating beyond gender in the maritime sector}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/AR-035.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }