{"id":26090,"date":"2026-09-29T13:42:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T10:42:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trialoog.taltech.ee\/?p=26090"},"modified":"2026-10-19T14:13:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T11:13:55","slug":"elpi-petraki-hiring-women-is-not-enough-if-they-never-reach-the-decision-making-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trialoog.taltech.ee\/en\/elpi-petraki-hiring-women-is-not-enough-if-they-never-reach-the-decision-making-table\/","title":{"rendered":"Elpi Petraki: hiring women is not enough if they never reach the decision-making table"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The maritime sector needs new employees and leaders, and attracting more women is increasingly discussed. Elpi Petraki, President of WISTA International, the global network of women professionals in maritime, shipping, trade and logistics, believes real change is measured by the roles women attain and their opportunities to influence their organisations. If women remain mainly in support roles, much of their potential goes unused.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":25524,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[249],"tags":[897,265,896,589,569],"class_list":["post-26090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-equal-treatment","tag-future","tag-future-talent","tag-maritime-sector","tag-workforce"],"acf":{"postbuilder":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","type":"text","text":"The importance of maritime transport becomes clearest in difficult times. Much of what we need in everyday life reaches us by sea \u2014 even in landlocked countries. Goods must reach them somehow, and that journey very often begins at sea.\r\n\r\nMaritime activity is inherently international. I come from Greece, on the Mediterranean; here in Estonia, we are on the Baltic. Yet we all operate within the same global system. Decisions, technological developments and knowledge in one country sooner or later affect others.\r\n\r\nThat is why openness and cooperation are so important. WISTA International<\/a> is a global network of more than 6,000 members in over sixty countries. Our members work across maritime affairs, shipping, trade and logistics.\r\n\r\nWISTA aims to help women recognise their professional potential and create opportunities for others to recognise it too. More important than simply entering the sector are women\u2019s opportunities to develop and participate in decision-making once there.\r\n

Look at where women actually work in an organisation<\/strong><\/h4>\r\nI often meet representatives of large companies and organisations who proudly tell me they employ many women. Of course, having more women is positive.\r\n\r\nBut I usually ask what positions they hold. Do they lead departments and companies? Do they participate in decisions? Can they advance, or do they mainly hold support roles, assisting managers whose positions they themselves have no opportunity to apply for?\r\n\r\nThe number of women alone tells us nothing about their influence.\r\n\r\nMaritime activity has historically been strongly male-dominated. Most people working on ships were men, shaping the image of captains, engineers and other maritime professionals over decades. The same attitudes later carried over into shore-based businesses.\r\n\r\nThe past need not determine the sector\u2019s future, however.\r\n\r\nIn 2018, WISTA International gained consultative status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), enabling us to participate in discussions shaping the entire sector\u2019s future. Over time, cooperation with many other international organisations followed, and our interests now extend beyond gender equality alone.\r\n\r\nRepresentation matters wherever decisions are made.\r\n

One familiar face in the room can make a difference<\/strong><\/h4>\r\nI know from experience what it means to enter a field as a young woman when almost everyone else is a man.\r\n\r\nI have attended conferences and meetings with hundreds of men and barely a dozen women. Knowing another woman in the room may seem a trivial detail. In fact, it can make an enormous difference.\r\n\r\nFinding someone to sit beside who shares your experience builds confidence. Someone can tell you it is all right, relax, you can do this.\r\n\r\nToday, I feel comfortable standing before a large audience. I was not always like that, but seeing other women do it gave me the courage to speak up too.\r\n\r\nThat is why networks and role models have a value that is difficult to measure.\r\n\r\nThis experience is not limited to women. Anyone can find themselves feeling like an outsider or different from others. An ally or role model can help overcome that feeling.\r\n\r\nChange in maritime activity also comes through cooperation. Men and women work in the same sector, and its future depends on how well we use one another\u2019s knowledge and experience.\r\n

More important than simply entering the sector are women\u2019s opportunities to develop and participate in decision-making once there.<\/p><\/blockquote>","image":null,"align":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":25515},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","type":"text","text":"

Knowledge loses its value if it is not passed on<\/strong><\/h4>\r\nDiscussing the maritime sector\u2019s future inevitably brings us to education.\r\n\r\nTechnology develops rapidly, changing the skills maritime businesses need. Education cannot therefore end with a diploma. Learning must continue throughout working life.\r\n\r\nWISTA offers professional training, scholarships and leadership programmes. Together with the IMO and the World Maritime University, we have developed a leadership programme for people seeking the skills today\u2019s maritime leaders need.\r\n\r\nFor me, what happens to that knowledge after training is equally important.\r\n\r\nI have always said: do not keep knowledge to yourself. Pass it on. Teach others. If we keep everything we learn to ourselves, sharing it with nobody, one day it disappears with us.\r\n\r\nThis has a very practical meaning for the next generation of maritime professionals. Universities provide knowledge, companies provide experience, and experienced specialists and leaders can help younger people understand how to apply that knowledge in real work.\r\n\r\nFor this to happen, the different parties must communicate.\r\n\r\nAn international network offers another advantage. Operating in dozens of countries, WISTA sees that problems are often similar around the world, but their causes can differ. A solution that works in Northern Europe may not suit Africa, Asia or Latin America in the same form.\r\n\r\nSharing knowledge therefore also means listening and adapting.\r\n

The maritime sector needs every capable person<\/strong><\/h4>\r\nThe sector is changing. New technologies, environmental goals and international tensions constantly raise new questions for businesses and governments. Answering them requires good engineers, researchers, managers and people from many other professions.\r\n\r\nWe cannot afford to exclude capable people simply because they do not fit historical images of a maritime worker or leader.\r\n\r\nOpportunities to progress must depend on people\u2019s abilities and aspirations.\r\n\r\nThis does not mean every woman should want to become a leader. It means a woman who wants to lead and has the ability must have the opportunity.\r\n\r\nThe same principle applies to visibility. Conference organisers still tell us that women speakers cannot be found on certain technical topics. We have therefore established the Maritime Speakers Bureau with the IMO to help identify women experts across a wide range of maritime subjects.\r\n\r\nThe experts exist. They must be found, given opportunities and have their knowledge made visible.\r\n\r\nThe next generation of maritime professionals is growing up now. The question is what kind of sector we are creating for them.\r\n\r\nIf we want to attract good people, they must see opportunities to learn, develop, express their views and lead if they wish.\r\n\r\nUltimately, everyone benefits.\r\n

The sector is changing. New technologies, environmental goals and international tensions constantly raise new questions for businesses and governments. Answering them requires good engineers, researchers, managers and people from many other professions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\r\nElpi Petraki is President of the Women\u2019s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA International). This opinion piece is based on her presentation at WISTA Estonia\u2019s annual seminar at TalTech Kuressaare College<\/a> on 23 September 2026.<\/strong><\/em>","image":null,"align":""}],"related_authors":[{"author":25519,"position":"President of WISTA International"}]},"yoast_head":"\nElpi Petraki: hiring women is not enough if they never reach the decision-making table - Trialoog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The maritime sector needs new employees and leaders, and attracting more women is increasingly discussed. 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Elpi Petraki, President of WISTA International, the global network of women professionals in maritime, shipping, trade and logistics, believes real change is measured by the roles women attain and their opportunities to influence their organisations. 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