Overview

The Marine Department Malaysia, with the support of the Ministry of Transport and the Maritime Institute of Malaysia, established the Women in Maritime Association (MyWIMA) in 2017 in response to the IMO’s call have stronger representation of women in the maritime sector in Asia. MyWIMA serves as the National Chapter of Women in Maritime Associations to implement the IMO Integration of Women in Maritime programme in Malaysia. Recently, MyWIMA was successful in securing a fellowship of IMLI’s 30th annual Master of Laws in International Maritime Law programme commencing 30th Oct 2018 for a MyWIMA member.

Moreover, Under Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme, Malaysia has contributed to the Regional Conference on Women in Maritime Authorities of Latin and Central America, 13th – 15th Dec 2017.

Towards this end, MyWIMA will be hosting a Regional Conference on Women in Maritime Asia in Kuala Lumpur in April 2019. The conference aims to strengthen regional linkages among WIMA-Asia chapters and harmonize a regional work programme. It will be a platform for discussions on how women in maritime Asia can contribute towards better ocean governance in the region and globally. More importantly, the conference offers the opportunity for women in the maritime world to identify role models and to establish support networks that are essential for realising their full potential.

MyWIMA seeks to enhance the role of women in this sector by allowing greater access to a global network of support, sharing of experiences and expertise, and contribute to continued professional development. It serves as a vehicle to harness their collective expertise and experience in contributing to the formulation of more effective maritime policies and in promoting Malaysia as a maritime nation.

MyWIMA is open to Malaysian women involved in the maritime and marine sectors and encourages their participation in areas such as the marine environment and resources, administration, training, and in regulatory and decision-making roles.

MyWIMA, in collaboration with the Maritime Institute of Malaysia, have developed a database of women in the maritime sector aimed at determining their demographics in the sector and in compiling a professional directory of women for promotion and networking.

Objectives

• To represent the interest of women in the maritime field in various national and international forum;
• To enhance education, training and career opportunities for women in the maritime sector;
• To promote maritime safety, security and efficiency;
• To advance marine environment protection;
• To advocate for gender equity and women empowerment;
• To encourage health, wellness and control of diseases of women in the maritime sector;
• To eradicate trafficking of women and children;
• To carry out social, cultural and economic‐related endeavours connected to the maritime sector.

Biannual General Meeting of MyWIMA which was held on 15 February 2019 at MIMA