By Hauwa Ali
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its Port Performance Scorecard has indicatedOnly 4% female participation in seaports operations in Africa.
In the recent findingsbetween 2010 to 2021, UNCTAD examined the global female participation in management, operations, cargo handling and the engagement of other employees within the port industry.
According to the 11-year study, Female inclusion in Port Management in Africa scored 15.5%, Asia 61.4%, Latin America 40.5% and Europe 41.4%. The global ranking is 44.7%.
Asia tops in female engagement in port operations with 33.7%, Latin America scored 5.5%, Europe 6.1% while the global ranking is 14.4%.
Except for the cargo handling category where Latin America comes least with 3.9% ranking, Africa scored 7.8%, Asia 8.2%, Europe 8.4%, while the global rate is put at 7.1%.
The engagement of other Employees within the port industry is globally ranked 28%, Europe 36%, Latin America 20.4%, Asia 33.3% and Africa19.6%.
In allcategories of female involvement, Africa was graded 13.1%, Asia 16.1%, Latin America 13.9% , Europe 25.8% and globally 17.7%.