Women in Port Cities: Governance and Gender Equity in the Brazilian Port Sector

10 Giugno, 2024

The Brazilian port sector has been undergoing significant changes in recent years. From globalization and the entry of new actors within the national infrastructure scenario, in addition to the 2013 regulatory framework (BRAZIL, 2013), it emerges that in the pre and post COVID-19 pandemic context with the promotion of the so-called good ESG practices (social and environmental governance), the port sector in Brazil began to highlight policies of inclusion and gender equity in ports and also in the shipping industry.

It would not be anything new, especially considering that Brazil has a larger population of women in its territory (BRASIL, 2022). However, until 2020 (Global Gender Gap Report), the country continued to occupy the 92nd position in a total of 153 countries, having one of the largest gender equality gaps in Latin America, occupying the 22nd position among 25 countries of region. Brazil achieved gender equality in the education and health sectors, but in the goods and services sector the gap was still large. The low female participation rate in the labor force, combined with lower wages and income, weighs on the country’s performance in this subindex (GUERISE, 2022, p. 23).

Indeed, it cannot be ignored that, when it comes to the shipping industry and port work, female participation remains a challenge considering the history of shipping and the port-city relationship itself. Of a total of 1.2 million maritime workers worldwide, approximately 1.5% are women (BIMCO/ICS Seafarer Workforce, 2021).

It is important to mention that, in the post-COVID-19 pandemic scenario, the role of the agribusiness and logistics sectors in the Brazilian economy has become more evident. And within this new economic and social scenario, some Brazilian women began to participate in the informal economy or became unemployed, while other women began to invest in preparation, either to face a business succession scenario within family businesses, or to migrate your job within multinational companies and, in this sense, the port sector is undergoing a profound transformation.

Another relevant factor for the existence of this transformation is the participation of national and foreign actors in investments aimed at infrastructure (economic and financial institutions), in addition to the fact that Brazil is a signatory of international commitments aimed at equity and inclusion policies, such as the SDGs. (Sustainable Development Goals) of the UN. SDG 5, which deals with gender equality, makes clear the need to achieve gender equality in labor relations.

The port of Santos, the largest in the southern hemisphere, precisely because it has the largest female population, stood out among the ports that began the movement to include gender, with companies such as ADM (Archer Daniels Midland), which increased its number of women by a 65% in the last 10 years (2024).

Whether in operations positions or in management and administrative management positions, a movement that was timid approximately 30 years ago has become a reality for women who, at the beginning, were not well seen in Brazilian ports. The history of the port-city relationship shows us this. Traditionally, ports in Brazil were seen as unsanitary places, vectors of disease and an attraction for female prostitution. For a conservative family it was not healthy for a woman to participate in the port work environment, much less in navigation.

Another point to highlight within the so-called good ESG practices is the role of port and shipping companies in relation to the most socially vulnerable communities around the port terminals. Training and social training programs are requested and have shown beneficial results in generating income for people who were unemployed.

Governance, technology, innovation and training have proven to be effective instruments for the adoption of gender equity policies in the port and shipping sector in Brazil.

Historically, the traditional photograph of Jacinto, called “Sansão do Cais Santista”, one of the countless Brazilian dockers of the 20th century, shows how important the strength factor was for workers in any port facility in Brazil. Some dockworkers did not even need to know how to read and write (a holdover from the post-slavery era), with brute strength and the ability to carry bags on their backs the critical factor in working in the largest port in the southern hemisphere.

“O Carregador Jacintho”, postcard edited by M. Pontes in Santos, c. 1910. (Available: https://museudocafesantos.medium.com/desconstruindo-jacinto-carregadores-de-caf%C3%A9-imigrantes-e-conflitos-%C3%A9tnicos-no-porto-de-santos-a6721b970509/; May 14, 2024).

Times have changed and without a doubt, new technologies and innovation have become allies of gender equality policies in the port and navigation sector. Other factors such as planning aimed at compliance with labor standards (such as ergonomics), clothing and adequate facilities to receive female labor were essential.

This is the case of the recent selection processes to receive loose female port workers in the Port of Santos, a historic milestone considering that, by 2023, only one remained working. Based on the selection process carried out by OGMO (Manpower Management Body), with the support and participation of the workers’ unions of the category, the selection process included the first two women cargo repairers (naval carpentry) within the unique template in the history of the port of Santos.

According to CENEP – Santos Port Center of Excellence, of the 3.400 temporary port workers active in the Port of Santos, 4 are women.
CENEP (Centro de Excelencia Portuaria de Santos), a public foundation related to City Hall and the Santos Port Authority also added its first female coordinator in 2021. The entity is responsible for training and qualification of independent port workers and private companies that operate within the Port of Santos, having participated in the selection processes alongside OGMO and the Workers Unions.

Other example is Fabiana do Nascimento Almeida, the first and only woman porter operator in the Port of Santos. Her insertion and training was carried out at the initiative of the company in which she operates, DP World, which, within its framework, also has women occupying management positions.

Fabiana do Nascimento Almeida is the first container operator in the port of Santos. (Source: DP World. Available: https://www.dpworld.com/pt-br/brazil/news/latest-news/dp-world-santos-reaches-the-womens-day-with-record-number-of-women-working-at-the-port/).

First woman cargo repairer in Puerto de Santos, Nathalia Conde Simões. (Source: CENEP personal archive).

In addition to operational positions, women’s participation in management positions in the port and shipping sector is also undergoing changes, with challenges to overcome. An example of a successful governance initiative between third sector entities and public authorities is the cooperation agreement between WISTA, an international organization operating in Brazil, and ANTAQ, the regulatory agency of the Brazilian executive branch [1].

The investigation is the first of the actions of the Protocol of Intent, signed in March 2022, between the Agency and the Women’s Association of Transport and International Trade (WISTA-Brazil) that seeks gender equality in the sector. The entire survey is in the public domain.

The data collected showed, in 2023, that women still occupied only 17.5% of the total vacancies in the Brazilian navigable sector, which follows the global trend of female occupation of positions in the sector.

On the other hand, taking into account that in previous statistics the values did not reach 14%, there was indeed an increase in the female workforce in the Brazilian port sector. Companies that operate in both the port and navigation sectors lead the ranking of female participation, with 17.9% of the positions occupied. In the maritime sector, for its part, more than 23% of management positions are occupied by women.

Participation of women in the Brazilian maritime and port sector. General data. (Source: ANTAQ, 2023. Available: https://www.gov.br/antaq/pt-br/noticias/2023/antaq-divulga-levantamento-sobre-equidade-de-genero-no-setor-aquaviario/).

The collection and publication of results encourages the adoption of good governance practices, since its purpose is to deepen the knowledge of the waterway sector in relation to its workers, in addition to serving as a starting point for companies in the sector to improve the policies aimed at gender equality. In total, 302 companies in the sector responded to the questionnaires (ANTAQ, 2023).

In addition to the statistics provided by the Protocol of Intentions signed between WISTA and the Brazilian government, associations and movements for gender equality that carry out mappings of women in the Brazilian port sector, such as the one titled “Women and Ports”, initiated in Brazil In 2022, it began to highlight the importance of the insertion of women in the Brazilian port sector, uniting workers from the country’s main ports, both in management and operational positions.

Within the Brazilian Executive Branch, female participation in management positions began a few years ago. Mariana Pescatori (first Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Ports and Airports) and Flávia Takafashi (first and only Director of ANTAQ – National Waterway Transport Agency, responsible for regulating activity in the country) stand out.

In the port authorities, few had women as presidents. Gilmara Timóteo stands out, president from 2015 to 2023 of the Companhia Docas do Estado da Paraíba, a state company responsible for the administration of the Port of Cabedelo.

New technologies, used properly and with proper training, allowed women to have more opportunities in a predominantly male sector. It is clear that mechanization and automation have not only placed them as front-line workers, but have also led them to occupy positions in the IT areas, in the areas of administration, accounting, logistics, as legal personnel of companies and terminals, and senior management positions in private companies or state regulatory agencies, all previously dominated solely by men (GONTIJO, 2021).

It can also be concluded that governance instruments become fundamental for the adoption of practices aimed at gender equality in the port sector, mainly in Brazil. From the adoption of international commitments by Brazil to the participation of economic groups in new investments for the construction, implementation and management of new port terminals, all these examples helped increase the number of women in the sector, when commitments are assumed with quality and commitment. Even considering that changes occur slowly, the transformation and implementation of gender equity policies in the Brazilian port sector is occurring.


HEAD IMAGE | In ten years (2014-2024), the number of women working at the port of Santos increased by 65%. (Source: Thiago de Jesus / Globo Rural).


NOTE

[1] ANTAQ is the Brazilian agency responsible for regulating, supervising and monitoring the activities of providing river transportation services and operating maritime ports and river infrastructure.


REFERENCES

BIMCO. Do we have the courage to inspire? Disponible: https://www.bimco.org/insights-and-information/general-information/20240514-stinne-interview (May 14, 2024).

BRASIL. IBGE. Censo demográfico 2022. Disponible: https://educa.ibge.gov.br/jovens/conheca-o-brasil/populacao/18320-quantidade-de-homens-e-mulheres.html#:~:text=Os%20resultados%20do%20Censo%20Demogr%C3%A1fico,da%20popula%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20residente%20no%20pa%C3%ADs. (May 14, 2024).

BRASIL. ANTAQ – Agência Nacional de Transportes Aquaviários. ANTAQ divulga levantamento sobre equidade de gênero no setor aquaviário, 2023. Disponible: https://www.gov.br/antaq/pt-br/noticias/2023/antaq-divulga-levantamento-sobre-equidade-de-genero-no-setor-aquaviario (May 14, 2024).

GONTIJO, Maria Cristina. A Tecnologia como aliada das mulheres no Mercado de trabalho portuário. Disponible: https://protagonismocidadao.com.br/gargalos-de-nosso-sistema-como-estamos-enfrentando-maria-cristina-gontijo-artigo/ (May 14, 2024).

GUERISE, Luciana. Mulheres para além do 8 de março. In. WISTA BRAZIL. Porto, Mar e Comércio Internacional Por Elas. Ediciones Milfontes. Vitória, Brasil, 2022.



Article reference for citation:

GONTIJO PERES VALDEZ SILVA, María Cristina. “Women in Port Cities: Governance and Gender Equity in the Brazilian Port Sector”. PORTUS | Port-City Relationship and Urban Waterfront Redevelopment, 47 (June 2024). RETE Publisher, Venice. ISSN 2282-5789.
URL: https://portusonline.org/women-in-port-cities-governance-and-gender-equity-in-the-brazilian-port-sector/

GONTIJO PERES VALDEZ SILVA, María Cristina. “Mujeres en las ciudades portuarias: gobernanza y equidad de género en el sector portuario brasileño”. PORTUS | Port-City Relationship and Urban Waterfront Redevelopment, 47 (June 2024). RETE Publisher, Venice. ISSN 2282-5789.
URL: https://portusonline.org/women-in-port-cities-governance-and-gender-equity-in-the-brazilian-port-sector/



error: Content is protected !!