WISTA goes silver

THE Women's International Shipping and Trading Association has come a long way since its conception. Later this year, WISTA will be celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary at an international conference in London.

Like a lot of good ideas, the concept of WISTA was hatched over a good bottle of wine between three or four female shipbrokers in London, who thereafter met regularly for Christmas lunch. The idea expanded to Norway and Denmark, and an international network of women in shipping grew from there.

WISTA's current chair is Fulvia Linari from Italy. Margaret Llewellyn, managing director of Dragon Shipping Line, is chair of the UK branch, which is hosting the silver anniversary conference later this year.

Louise Krenca, secretary of WISTA UK, says, "Our aim is to increase the membership of WISTA, to include more senior decision-makers, and to create a more professional image." In the past, WISTA has been typecast as an ad hoc, home-grown organisation, but the UK branch, at least, has clearly been working hard at revamping its image through the creation of a new corporate identity and a professionally produced newsletter, brochure and events diary.

"The main purpose of WISTA is to provide networking opportunities to its members," says Louise. "It can be a tool for generating new business, and an additional benefit is that it supports women, helping them to operate more effectively within their own organisations."

A glance at the WISTA UK diary offers an insight into the range of topics covered by its monthly meetings, which are open to male guests as well as to women. These range from an inspirational talk by Margaret Llewellyn which may not have been so aptly named "Navigating to the Top" (sounds a bit too like Nancy Friday's Women on Top to me) to Liability for Oil Pollution from Ships (safer territory for the men here).

But the fact is that WISTA is an organisation for women, not men. In the male-dominated, oily, dirty shipping industry there is a perception that women need all the help they can get to reach the top. WISTA can be seen as an important part of this process.

Events entitled Feng Shui - "creating harmony in your environment" - and a fashion show at Selfridges might raise an eyebrow or two in an industry in which WISTA wants to be taken seriously. But let's not hide the fact that, while blokes have ample opportunities to bond at black-tie dinners, football and golf, a girls' night out is hard to beat.
It is only natural that WISTA should also aim to mix fun with its more serious events. However, in a market in which perception sometimes carries more weight than reality, WISTA should take care not just of the image it wants to create, but also of how it goes about creating that image, if it wants to be considered as a serious lobby in the shipping industry at large.

The next issue of the Maritime Advocate will include an interview with a leading personality from WISTA. In the meantime, full details of WISTA's 25th anniversary conference in London, to be held at the Baltic Exchange, and of WISTA's regular monthly breakfast meetings in London, are available from Louise Krenca on + 44 171 623 2011 or via email at conf...@wista.org