The President noted that today, roughly 30 per cent of the students in the Malmö MSc programme are female and the Shanghai MSc programme Class of 2019 exceeded gender parity with 14 out of 27 graduates being female. This is a significant improvement from when the University was founded in 1983 and women made up only two per cent of the Malmö MSc enrolment. Although this is progress in the right direction, she maintained that much more needs to be done to promote women in maritime professions and encouraged that all individuals become advocates of the role of women in the maritime and ocean sectors. “Let us all commit to making gender equality a lived reality for all women and girls who have waited long enough. Let us work together to be change makers to continue empowering women through a new, groundbreaking, multigenerational campaign: Generation Equality: Realizing women’s rights for an equal future,” she said.

Mrs. Lillemor Darinder, former General Secretary of the Nordic Teacher’s Council, was the guest of honour. In her remarks, she focused on education as the key to equality, highlighting four important goals in ensuring equality in education: 1) education for all 2) good leadership 3) women’s representation, and 4) good values and tolerance. She noted the diversity of the audience gathered, and emphasized, the important role of the future graduates as leaders in the maritime and ocean sectors. “As leaders, see the win, fight for rights, be a tolerant leader and embrace the future with all its possibilities. Embrace technology, sustainability, and fight for democracy,” she said.

Several students contributed to the programme as speakers, all echoing the importance of being pro-active in advancing gender equality for sustainability as well as the betterment of society overall.