Women in the Blue Economy

The projects are expected to contribute to:

• Increased understanding, quantitative and qualitative evidence about gender data across sustainable blue economy in the EU including, if possible, data on education and training (e.g. enrolment data by gender in relevant education and training profiles/levels);
• Dissemination of good practices across sectors of the sustainable blue economy and across European regions to advance gender equality in maritime sectors;
• Increased visibility, awareness and recognition of women’s role and participation across sustainable blue economy sectors and enhanced gender diversity in society as a whole;
• Increased awareness of work and career opportunities for women in the sustainable blue economy;
• Availability of networking opportunities, to support women in the sustainable blue economy;
• Increased women’s participation and representation in governance structures of public and/or private organisations across the sustainable blue economy.

The list of impacts is non-exhaustive and applicants can include others if appropriate for their proposal.

This call for proposals has the following main objectives:

1. to increase the participation and representation of women in the different sectors of the sustainable blue economy
2. to increase knowledge and collect data on women’s contribution to the sustainable blue economy so as to efficiently foster and mainstream gender equality;
3. to promote and advance gender equality in the sustainable blue economy (e.g., countering gender stereotypes, conscious and unconscious bias, promoting equal pay, addressing poor working conditions, etc.) including through promoting blue career opportunities to girls from early education;
4. to promote women’s leadership, entrepreneurship and participation in governance structures and decision-making mechanisms of public and/or private organisations of the sustainable blue economy;

The actions funded under this call will help sustainable blue economy sectors e.g; fisheries, aquaculture, shipbuilding, maritime transport, offshore renewable energy, blue bioeconomy, inland and offshore aquaculture, etc., to embrace a deep and structural change to facilitate and promote the inclusion of women in the wider maritime economy.

The call for proposals is open to all sustainable blue economy sectors.[1]

Each project should however focus on at least three sectors so as to mainstream and expand good practices and activities, from sectors where data is already available and actions have already been taken in terms of gender equality (e.g., shipping, fishing etc.) to sectors where data availability and actions are still limited (e.g., offshore renewable energies, blue bioeconomy, robotics, etc.).

Proposals should ensure the widest possible geographical scope and involve partners across different sea basins [2]

[1] Blue economy sectors are listed in the recently adopted Communication on a Sustainable Blue Economy: COM(2021) 240 final https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52021DC0240&from=EN “It encompasses all industries and sectors related to oceans, seas and coasts, whether they are based in the marine environment (e.g. shipping, fisheries, energy generation) or on land (e.g. ports, shipyards, land-based aquaculture and algae production, coastal tourism)”

[2] For sea basins strategies and other relevant sea basin information for the Atlantic, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean or North Sea, please see: https://ec.europa.eu/oceans-and-fisheries/ocean/sea-basins/eu-sea-basins_fr