News: Maritime UK celebrates second Pride in Maritime Day
Maritime UK is proud to celebrate the 2nd annual Pride in Maritime Day following a successful launch last year.
Pride in Maritime Day (28th February) was launched in 2022 as part of an initiative by the Pride in Maritime Network, an established network within Maritime UK’s Diversity in Maritime programme. The network aims to identify barriers faced by the LGBT+ maritime community, educate and enable colleagues to empower and support, and share good practise policies that support LGBT+ colleagues across the sector.
Today, to mark Pride in Maritime Day, colleagues, and allies from the LGBT+ community will gather at an Industry Roundtable and Networking Event, held both online and in-person in London at the Society of Maritime Industries, to reflect on progress across the year, discuss the experiences and visibility of the LGBT+ community and, explore ways to increase allyship across the maritime sector.
The Pride in Maritime Network continues to go from strength to strength and 2022 saw meetings hosted by The Seafarers’ Charity, ABP, RNLI and Harland and Wolff. The network also supported the launch of an industry ‘Coming out Toolkit’ to share guidance on how employers can support LGBT+ colleagues disclosing their gender and sexual identities.
In a first for the network, the year also saw Pride in Maritime march in Pride London along with key industry partners including the Port of London Authority, The Seafarers’ Charity, BPA, iSWAN, Stena Line, Nautilus International and more, increasing visibility of the LGBT+ communities and their allies within the sector.
Get Involved
The network looks forward to building on the successes of 2022 and will once again join the Pride March on 1st July 2023, further increasing the visibility of LGBT+ colleagues and their allies across the sector. Network meetings are also due to take place on the 10 May and 13 June and we welcome colleagues from across the maritime sector to join.
The Diversity in Maritime programme is sponsored by the Port of Aberdeen and Stena Line.
Baroness Vere, Maritime Minister, said:
“I remain committed to ensuring our world-leading maritime sector promotes diversity and equality at the heart of everything it does. Diversity leads to innovative thinking, creative solutions, and attracts a range of talent. It’s therefore inspiring to see this fantastic initiative continue to go from strength to strength.
“Pride in Maritime Day educates us all to embrace, celebrate and support the LGBTQ+ community, and address any hurdles people may face whilst pursuing a rewarding career in this brilliant sector.”
Danny McGowan, Head of International Relations, Nautilus International, said:
“It continues to be an honour to chair the Pride in Maritime Network, and to see LGBT+ people from across the UK industry taking part in making the world of maritime welcoming to everyone. Building on the progress made by individual organisations in the past, the Pride in Maritime Network continues to take strides in ensuring that employers can access wider sections of the workforce than may have previously been possible. We urge everyone – whether LGBT+ or an ally – to take part in our Networks and Round Tables, to develop this important work.”
