WISTA (Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association) Norway has opened its doors to its first ever male member, Nor-Shipping Director Per Martin Tanggaard. The organization, which supports and promotes women in maritime business management positions, has enjoyed a long-standing partnership with Nor-Shipping and saw Tanggaard as the ideal person to announce the next chapter in its development.
“Per Martin is an enthusiastic, open minded and forward-thinking member of the maritime community. As such he is a perfect ambassador for WISTA and our mission of promoting women within the industry,” comments Bjørg Ekonrud, President, WISTA Norway.
“WISTA Norway decided to allow male membership at its 2017 AGM. We want to be inclusive, of course, but also saw this as a way of building our influence, with prominent male ambassadors helping us carry our message into new arenas, engage new audiences and build new opportunities. Per Martin, with his role at the head of one of our industry’s most important global gatherings, is an ideal person to help us achieve those objectives.”
Nor-Shipping, Your Arena for Ocean Solutions, has worked with WISTA since 2015. WISTA’s Waves of Change conference is an established part of the Nor-Shipping program, with associated events and networking highlighting opportunities for women within shipping, while acting to increase diversity, equality and participation. Nor-Shipping is also a high-level sponsor of the WISTA International AGM and Conference, taking place in Tromso, Norway on 25-26 October 2018.
“Nor-Shipping has been at the front line of fighting for greater female participation in maritime for years and we see this move within that context,” notes Tanggaard. “By helping WISTA open its doors to men we can increase the reach of the organization within maritime and help effect positive change.
“To ensure the maritime and ocean industries have access to the best minds we have to commit to working together to foster an open and inclusive environment. Our message is ‘this is an industry for everybody’ and we need to promote that to ensure our best chance of sustainable success far into the future. Personally, I’m delighted to be the first man to join WISTA Norway, and I hope there’ll be many more that see the value of engaging with this important organization to promote goals that we all stand to benefit from.”
Tanggaard has also signed up as the first male mentor for WISTA Norway and YoungShip’s Female Maritime Mentorship programme. Nor-Shipping 2019 takes place at Norges Varemesse’s Lillestrøm exhibition halls and across numerous venues in Oslo from04 - 07 June 2019. The WISTA Waves of Change 2019 conference is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 04 June in Lillestrøm.
