LIVORNO – “Inclusive Ports of the Mediterranean – Strategies for Gender Equality in the Port System” is the theme of the conference held this morning in Livorno, at the Palazzo Portuale, to discuss inclusivity in ports. The meeting was promoted by the Autorità di Sistema Portuale Mar Tirreno Settentrionale, Comitato Unico di Garanzia (CUG). This body, within the scope of the port authority’s activities, performs advisory, propositional, and verification functions, and is oriented towards the promotion of equal opportunities, workplace well-being, and the prevention of discrimination in the workplace.
The creation of a Mediterranean network for gender equality, this is the final proposal of the conference launched by the port authority: “European and international data tell us that women represent about 22% of the workforce in transport in the European Union, but fall below 20% in the maritime-port sector, with minimal peaks in operational and technical areas” – said the president of the CUG, Antonella Querci, in her opening remarks, indicating that on board ships the percentage of women is estimated to be around 1% while in Italian port companies it does not exceed 8%.
This is a bleak picture, which is however counterbalanced by positive data on the good level of female empowerment achieved in the institutional dimension: within the European Sea Ports Organisation almost half of the professionals participating in the technical committees are women, and ports like Barcelona have exceeded 30% female presence, with higher peaks in non-operational sectors. In the same Autorità Portuale dell’Alto Tirreno, women represent about 46% of the total workforce employed.
The growing gap between the two realities requires concrete tools, comparable monitoring, and cooperation networks that translate good practices into real changes. Hence the intention of the Ente di Palazzo Rosciano to present a proposal for a European project dedicated to the creation of a Mediterranean network of ports committed to certification and gender equality policies.
“The Mediterranean – said Querci – has always been a sea of exchange, a natural bridge between continents, cultures, and production systems. Today, with the growth of the Blue Economy, it becomes the ideal place to experiment with new forms of inclusive cooperation”. The Port Authority’s intention is that the creation of a network of inclusive ports would aim to give women access to a wide range of skills and at the same time offer ports a tool to strengthen more stable and innovative commercial and institutional relations.
“Mediterranean ports – further explained the president of the CUG of the AdSP of Livorno – have before them a responsibility and an opportunity: to transform gender equality into a structural factor of innovation”.
This is the challenge for the inclusive ports of the Mediterranean: “building networks that unite people, skills, and visions, and making inclusion a common route towards the future.”
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Inclusion was discussed in depth during the conference, an initiative that saw the participation of operators, representatives of institutions and the associative world, and which marked the conclusion of the process that led the AdSP to obtain the quality certification for gender equality.
At the opening of the conference, the extraordinary commissioner of the AdSP, Davide Gariglio, pointed out how the European port and maritime sector is currently undergoing a phase of profound transformation. “Technological innovation, the energy transition, and digitalization are redesigning port life, expanding its functions and competences well beyond the boundaries of the traditional core. In this scenario, the enhancement of female presence becomes not only a matter of social justice, but a strategic lever for competitiveness and innovation,” he said.
For the no.1 of the ports of Livorno and Piombino, the enhancement of female resources is not only a matter of social justice but a strategic lever for competitiveness: “There is still much to be done, but changes are now underway. It is necessary to stimulate all port companies on the issue of social equity and good training is needed: invest in young people, in the new generations so that they are educated in the culture of respect.”
The mayor of Livorno, Luca Salvetti, was of the same opinion. In his speech, he listed both the obstacles that currently prevent the full involvement of women in the port work world (work-life balance; underrepresentation, limited access to training) and the opportunities dictated by change (technology and innovation, the progressive acquisition of importance of administrative and technical professional skills, environmental safety and sustainability “which finds in the reference to the female world a possibility for development”).
“In the Italian context, Livorno is an element of good practices and the AdSP represents a decisive lever for the creation of a more equitable and inclusive society,” declared the mayor, emphasizing how female presence is a driving element in the Municipality as well, since 70% of municipal employees are women. “The Municipality functions better where the female experience emerges clearly,” he pointed out, expressing the Administration’s willingness to collaborate with the AdSP on these issues.
The regional councilor for equal opportunities, Maria Grazia Maestrelli, also emphasized how the changes dictated by technological innovation, digital innovation, and sustainability are now the trigger for processes capable of generating greater gender equality. However, there remain critical issues regarding the times and ways in which this equality must be pursued. The councilor, tasked by the Ministry of Labor with dealing with various forms of discrimination in the Tuscan territory, pointed the finger, for example, against those companies that “in our beautiful Tuscany advise women to leave their jobs as soon as they become pregnant.”
And pointed out how harassment, not only sexual, but also of other types, more difficult to identify, is still very widespread.
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From the reflections of the conference – which saw the participation of several speakers, including the Secretary General of the European Sea Ports Organisation, Isabelle Ryckbost, the Head of Corruption Prevention of Assoporti, Tiziana Murgia, and the Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality, Carlien Scheele – a complex puzzle of global challenges and changes emerged, making the goal of full gender equality overall achievable even if the road ahead is still very long.
It is a road, however, that the AdSP of the Upper Tyrrhenian Sea has embarked upon with conviction, adopting gender equality as a relevant area of its sustainability strategy, and acquiring in March 2025 the quality certification for gender equality, the first ever obtained by a Port Authority.
Now, however, we must move forward. And it is for this reason that the Entity of Palazzo Rosciano announced at the end of the conference the launch of a new path for the creation of the Pact for Gender Equality of the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea Port System. In the intentions of the AdSP and the CUG, the Plan will not be a document of principle, but a participatory process capable of concretely impacting port and territorial development, addressing welfare issues for work-life balance, defining training and mentorship programs to open up new port professions to women, and promoting a governance that permanently integrates the gender perspective in strategic choices.
“The Pact could become the basis for a European observatory, a tool that allows us to monitor the evolution of the sector, share data, and enhance ports that make inclusion a real lever for growth,” stated Querci.
