Theres a significant growth in the number of women, local and expatriates, employed in all areas of the tourism sector from guesthouses, travel agents, hotels and resorts. However, women taking jobs in the boating industry is little to nil. How can the boa

Fundamentally it comes down to three main things; creating awareness and a safe enabling environment, providing adequate training and lastly giving them the opportunity to excel. After which all it takes is one woman. One woman to break the glass ceiling and her success story to be told. It is evident from the other sectors of tourism or other fields which are traditionally male dominated that women get inspired by women to strive towards greatness. One woman can be the trailblazer paving the path to many to come. Inherently it is a form of social conditioning and acceptability which can be only changed by changing our culturally ingrained gender dynamics mindset

I believe we need to make aware of the opportunities available in the boating industry for women. The number of women in the tourism industry as a whole is increasing every day. What is lacking I feel is the awareness of such opportunities available in boats for women and encouraging them to get involved by hiring more women for such positions.

We need to acknowledge that, as an industry, we do not have sufficient knowledge of the barriers that currently exist for women to be a bigger part of the industry. The main message that I would like to send to women is that working in the safari or liveaboard industry does not necessarily mean you have to live and work on a boat. Being on the sea is not for everyone, but there is a lot that goes on land to support our growing safari industry. Designing boats, promoting and managing the operations as well as working in the local islands to create excursions for the boats that visit the island. There are numerous other areas within the industry where women and girls can play a vital role as well. Dive instructors, surf and tour guides are all jobs women can do more flexibly while not necessarily being constantly onboard the safaris. However, what I would like to encourage also is that, there are many options other than being a captain or a crewmember on a safari too. Chefs, dive instructors, surf guides and tour guides are areas that women can specialize and excel. It is not to say that girls cannot be captains or crews either. In fact, there are women already successfully working as captains, we just dont have enough of them. Our liveaboard industry has also matured where accommodation for staff have also improved a lot. Safaris are now designed in such a way that there is more comfortable accommodation to support women and their needs. Awareness to bring about a change in attitudes regarding womens role in the industry is very much needed. We need to share more information regarding all these options and opportunities for school aged girls and their families to break the perception that the safari industry is a mans world

True boating has been nil for feminine-oriented jobs and more. But, in many other countries, we see them employed in positions from captains to technical people. I think not only awareness, the education curriculum is such that being an island nation we have no information or subject that teach our children this industry exists . Vocational trainings for this field has not been formalized, and awareness among parents and students are rare that this can be an income- generating field for women with respect. The solution to me is trainings, awareness in media and schools; and also influence by boating professionals through social media reaching to the community.

The importance of increased involvement by women as a catalyst towards developing any industry cannot be understated. This is evident in industries around the globe. While the boating industry has traditionally been a male dominated industry, this is something that can be changed with efforts from both at an individual level and a community level. Some of the key reasons for low involvement by women in the boating industry may be due to concerns about living arrangements, concerns about safety at sea, and lack of awareness about existing opportunities. These concerns can be addressed. Liveaboards can be designed in a way that provides the safety and privacy needed to meet womens needs. Furthermore, women are more than capable of holding responsibilities at sea, and learning to be responsible for their own safety, as well as overseeing the safety of others, as proven by the increasing number of women in high risk jobs such as in the aviation industry. In addition, awareness can be created with regards to the career opportunities available in the boating industry among youth and elders alike, to reduce stereotypical thinking towards jobs in this industry and to encourage the mindset that gender does not determine the ability for an individual to contribute towards betterment of boating services