International Day for Women in Maritime 2026
May 18 marks the maritime sector’s annual celebration of the International Day for Women in Maritime to promote the recruitment, retention, and sustained employment of women in the maritime sector, raise the profile of women in maritime, strengthen the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 (gender equality) and support work to address the current gender imbalance in the maritime workforce.
IMO celebrations for the International Day for Women in Maritime 2026 are being held under the theme ‘From Policy to Practice: Advancing Gender Equality for Maritime Excellence,’ aligning with the World Maritime Day theme, ‘From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence.’ In a video message marking the occasion, Professor Maximo Q. Mejia Jr., President of World Maritime University, said:
“Gender equality is essential to a sustainable future for the maritime sector, and WMU remains committed to advancing gender equality across the full spectrum of our industry through education, research, and capacity development. I would like to take this opportunity, as we celebrate the International Day for Women in Maritime, by mentioning how immensely proud we are that our very own WMU Professor Dr Momoko Kitada is the 2026 recipient of the IMO Gender Equality Award. Dr Kitada’s expertise and dedication to advancing gender equality continue to shape the work undertaken at WMU, while also influencing maritime organizations around the world to strengthen gender equality within their own institutions.
There is still much work to be done, both in policy and in practice, to achieve gender equality in our industry, and it will require the dedication of every individual across the maritime sector to realize our industry’s full potential and ensure its long-term sustainability. Through our shared commitment to gender equality, purposeful actions, and collective resolve, we will create meaningful and lasting change.”
IMO Gender Equality Award 2026 - Professor Momoko Kitada
Professor Momoko Kitada, Nippon Foundation Professorial Chair in Gender and Innovation, Academic Dean, and Head of Maritime Education & Training at World Maritime University, has been selected to receive the 2026 IMO Gender Equality Award following her nomination by Japan. The award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to advancing gender equality and empowering women in the maritime sector. Endorsed by the IMO Council during its 135th session in London, Professor Kitada will receive the award at IMO on 18 May 2026 alongside celebrations for the International Day for Women in Maritime, and launch a new Handbook on Gender Mainstreaming in the Maritime Sector.
A former seafarer, Professor Kitada has influenced maritime institutions worldwide and inspired generations of students to advance gender equality in their own organizations through her research, teaching, and leadership of global gender and diversity initiatives. With more than 20 years of research experience, she continues to integrate gender perspectives into maritime education, sustainable development, digitalization, innovation, and capacity development initiatives.
Former Seafarer
Professor Momoko Kitada is a former seafarer and was awarded a PhD in Social Science from Cardiff University, United Kingdom. She joined WMU in 2011 and has become a leading advocate for diversity and inclusion in maritime education and policy. At WMU, Professor Kitada is a Nippon Foundation Chair, the Academic Dean, and Head of Maritime Education & Training (MET). In addition, Professor Kitada teaches in other MSc specializations including Maritime Energy Management (MEM), the Postgraduate Diploma in Maritime Energy, and the Summer Academy on Maritime Decarbonization.
Professor Kitada leads WMU’s gender equality collaboration efforts with IMO, which supports women’s integration in the maritime sector. She is a certified Gender Audit Facilitator and a certified expert in Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Impact Evaluation.
Professor Kitada actively incorporates gender perspectives in her interdisciplinary teaching in maritime subjects, including maritime education and training, maritime energy management, sustainable development, capacity development, digitalization and innovation, and research methodology. She has 20 years of research experience in gender equality in the maritime and ocean sectors.
WMU & Advancing Gender Equality in Maritime and Ocean Professions
Through its well established education, capacity development and research agenda, and recognizing that all the goals are interrelated and indivisible, the World Maritime University (WMU) is committed to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, particularly Goal 5 focused on Gender Equality. The University continually pursues efforts to increase the number of women enrolled across all programmes offered. In addition, WMU conducts research on gender-related issues in the maritime and oceans realm, including through programmes dedicated to empowering women
As WMU continues to improve gender balance in maritime and ocean-related fields, female student representation at WMU has improved substantially from 3% in 1983 to a current record of 40 percent women in the Class of 2025 MSc in Maritime Affairs programme delivered in Malmö, Sweden, while the WMU MSc specializations delivered in Shanghai and Dalian, China, have achieved the milestones of gender parity. Through recruitment strategies and support from fellowship donors, the proportion of female students and faculty continues to increase. To date, there are 1,493 female graduates from WMU out of the overall 6,342 graduates from 171 countries and territories.
In further support of gender equality, through generous support of donors, WMU is engaged in a research and capacity development Programme on Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The programme was officially endorsed as an Ocean Action by IOC-UNESCO during the official launch of the Decade. WMU is committed to contributing and facilitating the empowerment of women in the conduct of ocean science, as well as in delivering science-based decision-making processes in ocean governance systems.
On 27 March 2025, the Deep Dive on Seafarer Sustainability report was launched by Lloyd's Register Foundation, and is based on WMU research that highlights opportunities to make the number of seafarers more sustainable by investing in Africa's emerging talent and supporting women in maritime roles. The report examines entry barriers for careers in maritime, many of which intersect for both women and those living on the African continent. It highlights that reaching 25% women seafarers by 2050 could be possible by following several steps, which the report breaks down, ranging from awareness campaigns to encourage more girls into STEM, to gender equality policies and targeted scholarships.
