Feminine leadership and STEM careers for the future of the port-maritime industry

Her LinkedIn profile photo shows her in a pink hard had, not as a fashion statement but as a statement of empowerment: ‘women can do it.’ Yes, because for Ilya Espino de Marotta, Deputy Administrator - Panama Canal, being a woman and wearing pink is not an impediment to pursue a career in the maritime industry, traditionally led by men in the operative and executive levels. That is why the second on board the Panama Canal talked one-to-one with Rachael White, Content Director TOC Events Worldwide, as part of the TOC Americas Virtual Expo conference to which MundoMaritimo attended as exclusive media partner.

Since January Ilya has been the woman in charge in the second most important position in the Panama Canal and also the first woman to ever hold the position, as well as still holding her previous position as Chief operating officer Panama Canal. “We can -and we must- do the same jobs as men. We should not be afraid to make mistakes or ask for help, teamwork is key to building our way in the corporate world in areas traditionally led by men,” said the executive who advocates for the incorporation of women in work positions identified as exclusive for men.

An engineer’s journey 

The conversation with Ilya Espino de Marotta was the last presentation of the three-day conference TOC Americas Virtual Expo, but not the least important… her speech on inclusion, diversity and talent development shed a light on equal distribution within the workforce in the industry. “I was always interested in marine biology, loved Jacques Cousteau, and I even received a scholarship to study marine biology, but at that time, it was not the best career to study in Panama. So, I thought, ‘I’m good with numbers and I can still be near boats’ and went on to study marine engineering. I wasn’t eager to ship out, but I was looking forward to working with ships, repairing them, building them, those kinds of things. I don’t regret my decision and since the first moment I was out of university I started working in the shipyard at the Panama Canal where I stayed for over 4 years. I have grown in my engineering experience for over 30 years. When I started there weren’t many women, other than the traditional secretary roles, and I was often the first woman to ever occupy a position. I was lucky to have been mentored by men and learn from them and to be able to open new opportunities for women in the future, especially in managerial positions,” says the engineer. 

Role model

“My most important achievement has been to lead the Panama Canal expansion program. It is every engineer’s dream job; it was like going back to the beginning of the construction of the Canal. It was the largest work in the country and to be part of a project that created 40 thousand jobs and have women on board was very good,” she said on her greatest professional achievement. “If you could leave a mark, what would it be? ‘definitely, it would be to inspire women to go into STEM careers. I have a pink hard hat because when I was a year into leading the expansion project there were comments suggesting I wouldn’t be able to see it through, so I bought a pink hard hat as a statement that ‘I am a woman and I can do this.’ The hard hat became quite famous, although that was not the intention, but it gave my position a lot of visibility within the agency and the role that I was developing and this has led to a lot of invitations to universities and women’s professional associations about how to climb the corporate ladder as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry. So, if I can inspire other women to pursue non-traditional careers, I think that’s the best I can leave as a legacy.”

The maritime industry, infrastructure, machinery are all areas traditionally led by men. “The most important thing is to have confidence and be humble to learn. It is one step at a tome it will take years of work and dedication and I believe that you have the desire to do a good job. A good professional reputation will open doors and opportunities. People will see what you do and how you do it and will take it into account, allowing you to scale to positions with larger visibility and responsibility. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or to go into unknown territory. Every occasion that I changed positions in the Canal I was not an expert, but I knew I could learn it. Teamwork and learning from others are key. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, assistance and if you have the right attitude you will achieve great things. Being confident in decision-making is also important to reach positions with higher responsibility,” says the engineer.

Role models open roads. “Since some 10-15 years I have seen more women open the way as captains, locomotive operators and even drivers. When positions are advertised, it is not in an intentional way, but the offer is biased for men, so women do not feel included in this call. Once you open the door that flow begins to increase. We already have women in technical positions, and they are ready to apply for managerial positions and that is good for decision-making process, because the more diversity you have the more view-points for solving a problem.” 

COVID and the Panama Canal

The conversation also flowed towards technology, its uses and opportunities that it opens, such as the possibility of remote work forced by the pandemic. “For the first time, the Panama Canal has 12 thousand people working from home. Technology opens up opportunities to be more creative and productive by relieving repetitive tasks that sometimes ‘cramps’ your creativity. By having technology at our disposal, we gain time to do other things of added value.”

“Even with the pandemic, we’ve had a good year in terms of transit and budget. We saw a drop in transit between May, June, July, but since August we’ve seen an increase all through October. The pandemic has put the Canal under pressure and we’ve had to keep up operations, but we stopped works, suspended all non-essential activities and sent everyone to work from home, so for about 2 months we were working with roughly half the personnel and considering all the necessary sanitary measures. It is hard to make projections at the time about what will be the real impact of the pandemic,” says the executive. A round of live Q&A finalized the one-to-one session.

By MundoMaritimo