Women, shipping and social impact take centre stage in Athens

Women are playing an increasingly prominent role in shipping and in the social work surrounding the industry, Cyprus officials and shipowners stressed in Athens, drawing attention to a side of maritime business that reaches well beyond ships, trade and balance sheets. The message was at the heart of the “Women, Shipping, Social Contribution” event organised by the Shipping Deputy Ministry at the Onassis Stegi in Athens, ahead of World Maritime Day. The gathering brought together First Lady Philippa Karsera Christodoulides, Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanolis, Cyprus Union of Shipowners (CUS) president Polys V. Hajioannou and senior figures from the Greek and Cypriot maritime communities. As reported by mononews, those attending included Andreas Hadjiyiannis, Ioanna Prokopiou, Charikleia Mylona, Ioanna Martinou, Liona Bacha, Alexandra Gana, Chrysanthi Stefanou, Eleni Polychronopoulou, Irene Daifa and Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou, as well as Cyprus’ ambassador to Greece Stavros Avgoustides. Hadjimanolis argued that Cyprus’ maritime industry should not be judged simply by the size of its fleet or its economic contribution, describing shipping as “above all, its people”. She linked that human dimension to the sector’s longstanding record of charitable and community work in Cyprus and Greece, where shipping families, shipowners, companies and organisations have supported healthcare, education, social welfare, younger generations, culture and the environment. That support, she noted, has included foundations, donations, scholarships and sponsorships, as well as assistance during natural disasters and other periods of crisis. The event itself, she explained, was built around three closely connected ideas, women, shipping and social contribution. Within that tradition, women had carved out a particularly important role, not only professionally but also through charitable foundations, family initiatives and wider community work. Addressing those present, Hadjimanolis credited women in shipping with having “paved the way and laid solid foundations for the generations to come”, adding that younger women were now building on that work. She also pushed back against a narrow definition of what it means to be a woman in shipping, describing the role as extending beyond those formally employed by the sector. It could include “the professional, the scientist, the woman of the sea”, she noted, but also women contributing through families, charitable foundations and personal initiatives. The First Lady was cited as one example of that broader role, with Hadjimanolis pointing to Christodoulides’ involvement in social and solidarity initiatives. Christodoulides, for her part, focused on shipping’s wider place in society, describing the sector as a community whose members had traditionally looked after one another. “We honour the people of the sea and underline the important contribution of women in this very demanding but vital sector, not only for the economy but for society more broadly,” she said. She connected that culture of mutual support with the strong presence of maritime businesses and families in education, healthcare, culture and support for vulnerable groups in Cyprus and Greece. Christodoulides also referred to her own experience of displacement following the 1974 Turkish invasion, explaining that it had shaped her view of social responsibility. Education, she recalled, had proved particularly important for displaced Cypriot families rebuilding their lives, remarking that “education is the one thing that, when our homes were taken from us, nobody could take away”. She also referred to initiatives including scholarship support and the “Breakfast for All” programme, which began as a pilot project in Larnaca and aims to provide children with a healthy breakfast without singling out pupils from families facing financial difficulties. Hajioannou, meanwhile, traced the maritime community’s social outlook back to life at sea, where crews have historically depended heavily on one another. “Mutual assistance is a rule of life at sea and this way of thinking has been carried into the social action of the shipping family,” he said. He also highlighted the changing place of women within the industry, from those who traditionally supported seafarers and their families ashore to the growing number now working aboard ships, in ports, offices, boardrooms and maritime institutions. In his view, women were not simply taking part in shipping but actively shaping its development and broadening its tradition of social contribution. Hadjimanolis also thanked CUS and Hajioannou for their longstanding support for Shipping Deputy Ministry initiatives and for their wider contribution in Cyprus and Greece, while acknowledging ambassador Avgoustides’ role in advancing the ministry’s objectives in the Greek maritime market. The event formed part of Hadjimanolis’ September 17-19 working visit to Athens, which includes meetings with shipping companies and industry representatives as Cyprus seeks to deepen ties with the Greek maritime sector. She also pointed to the increasingly close relationship between the two countries’ shipping communities, arguing that Cyprus and Greece had chosen cooperation over competition. “We understood very early on that we can move forward together and achieve the results we see today,” she said.