River women making a difference

Marking International Day for Women in Maritime (18 May), we put the spotlight on three women in very different roles on the tidal Thames.

Our latest People of the Thames profile features Audrey Hughes, manager of City Cruises’ operations at Westminster Pier.

Audrey says: “The river often comes across as a man’s world. Old ways of doing things are slow to change in some quarters, but I think that progress has been made in recent years.

“I manage a wonderful, diverse and multi-cultural team of 13. Only three of them are men.

“City Cruises also has one Thames jet captain, who is female, along with a number of our apprentices."

In filmed interviews, Ventzislava Gunton, hatch foreman at DP World London Gateway, and Amber Hurn, a GIS assistant in our hydrography department, offer their perspectives on what needs to be done to address the sector’s gender imbalance.

Ventzislava commented: “There needs to be more education on the fact that women have a place in this industry in any role that they choose to do.”

Amber’s advice to women considering a maritime career is “Go for it! There is a wide support network available to help."

Katherine Riggs, chief executive of the Thames Skills Academy, said: “The maritime sector has historically been male-dominated, but more and more women are coming aboard.

“Attracting, retaining and developing more women to follow careers on the Thames is crucial to the future success of the river.

“It’s vital we recruit from the full talent pool available.”

If you’d like to learn about the #WomenOnTheWater Thames network, contact Katherine Riggs at the Thames Skills Academy ([email protected]).