Nautilus in key maritime sector diversity taskforce appointments

Nautilus officials hold key maritime sector appointments supporting diversity and inclusion in Maritime UK's newly expanded Diversity in Maritime Taskforce.

Nautilus International's director, communications, campaigns and digital, Helen Kelly, has been appointed as the Speaker Bank project lead. The Speaker Bank provides a database of diverse speakers for panels and conferences with specific industry expertise.

Nautilus's international organiser Danny McGowan continues in a new term as chair of the Pride in Maritime Network.

Maritime UK, the umbrella body for the maritime industries, announced new appointments for its expanded Taskforce structure following Maritime UK Week 2022.

The taskforce, which oversees the Diversity in Maritime programme, was launched in May 2020, in response to government's flagship Maritime 2050 strategy. The programme is focused on ensuring that the future maritime workforce across the shipping, ports, services, engineering, and leisure marine industries is as diverse as possible.

Over the last two years, Diversity in Maritime has created a charter programme, sought commitment through a series of industry pledges signed by senior leaders and provided a wealth of resources, toolkits, networks and initiatives, including the Interview Pool, the Speaker Bank and the Menopause Hub.

At the heart of the programme are the 'networks': Women, Mental Health, Pride and Ethnicity which are supported by four working groups.

Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: 'New appointments to the Maritime Taskforce are a great step in the right direction to make the maritime sector more open and accessible to all. Now we need to be reaching out to encourage those who haven't considered a career in the industry to do so.'

• For a full list of the taskforce appointments visit Maritime UK