Cynthia Hudson Awarded Outstanding Woman in Maritime Port Protection

HudsonAnalytix CEO Cynthia A. Hudson received the award as Outstanding Woman in the Port Protection and Security category of the 2016 Maritime Award of the Americas by the Inter-American Committee on Ports of the Organization of American States (OAS).  The award was presented in Panama at the First Hemispheric Seminar on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Gender Equality in the Port Sector: From Awareness to Action.  Organized by the Maritime Authority of Panama and the Secretariat of the Inter-American Committee on Ports (S/CIP) of the OAS, the event aimed at strengthening socially responsible port operations and gender equality among the highest authorities of public and private ports, representatives of academia, and decision makers in the maritime industry.  Opening remarks for the event were made by Jorge Durán, Chief of the S/CIP and Jorge Barakat, Administrator of the Maritime Authority of Panama.

In her acceptance speech, Ms. Hudson highlighted her own journey to founding HudsonAnalytix, a global company that brings thought leadership, innovation and technologically advanced solutions to the maritime transportation industry.  In addition to ethical considerations, she offered other reasons why gender equality in the maritime industry should be a goal: “It offers sustainability to our society and to our industry; as a dimension of CSR, we are investing in a better future for us all; and, it has a far reaching social and economic impact.”

Hudson outlined milestones that would indicate that gender equality in the maritime industry has been achieved: “When there is equality of opportunity; when women have the same employment conditions as men; when women can equally achieve positions of leadership and power; when the right person for the job can be drawn from a competent gender equalized talent pool; when having women in a non-traditional field is considered ‘mainstream’; and, when gender equality is the norm in industry, the workplace, and the community.”

She added, “Women need to be welcomed and sought after for all facets of participation in the world of maritime transportation from dock workers to engineers, from business leaders to seafarers, from policy makers to freight forwarders; the list is long.  Girls have to see and hear from role models, and [to] learn that these professions exist and will welcome them when they have acquired the requisite competencies.  They need to be given a pathway.”

In a highly competitive process, entries were received from all sub-regions of the Hemisphere (North, Central, South America, and the Caribbean) from both public and private maritime sectors.  Nominees were judged on their leadership and innovative contribution to the integral development of a competitive, safe, and sustainable port sector in the Americas.  Award winners demonstrated measurable outcome and sustainable impact of their professional achievements.