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EU Blue Economy Observatory

she4sea: Empowering Women in the Maritime Industry

she4sea is an EU-funded project aimed at promoting professional development for women in maritime careers, addressing existing gender inequalities, and fostering the acquisition of essential soft skills for leadership, entrepreneurship, and sustainability.

©She4Sea Project

Project Overview

  • Full Name: she4sea – Towards an Inclusive Maritime Industry
  • Funding: Erasmus+ Programme
  • Duration: December 15, 2023 – March 15, 2025
  • Coordinator: Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association

Key Objectives

she4sea targets three key sectors of the maritime industry:

  • Maritime tourism
  • Fisheries and aquaculture
  • Shipping

The project focuses on equipping women with soft skills that are critical for modern maritime jobs while challenging traditional gender norms.

She4Sea’s key objectives include:

  1. Equipping unemployed women with the skills needed to enter maritime tourism, fisheries & aquaculture, and shipping.
  2. Supporting women already working in maritime sectors to pursue leadership and managerial roles.
  3. Providing VET trainers with tailored tools and methodologies to support women’s soft skills development.
  4. Making maritime professions and entrepreneurship attractive to women by promoting gender-neutral competencies and eliminating stereotypes.

Implementation strategies

she4sea adopts a comprehensive approach to meet its goals:

  • Digital profiling tool: a self-assessment platform for women to evaluate their leadership, entrepreneurship, and sustainability skills and receive personalised competence profiles.
  • Training platform: an open-access online platform offering training in four languages (English, Greek, Spanish, and Bulgarian) to women and VET trainers.
  • Competence framework and compendium: research-driven results outlining the modular structure for training and updated data on competence needs and gender barriers.
  • Pilot Sessions: testing and validation of the tools with 90 women across Greece, Spain, and Bulgaria.

Key Output

she4sea facilitates collaboration through its online training tools and digital profiling platform. By engaging key stakeholders such as VET trainers, maritime employers, and organisations promoting women’s employability, the project ensures broad dissemination and long-term impact.

she4sea aims to:

  • Enhance the employability of women in maritime sectors.
  • Promote gender equality and reduce barriers for women in leadership roles.
  • Increase awareness of the potential of women’s contributions to a more resilient and sustainable maritime industry.
  • Establish replicable frameworks and tools for gender-neutral skills development across Europe.

Contact information

For more information about the she4sea project: