Just 2% of the world’s mariners are female, but the first ever US woman to captain a cruise ship, Kate McCue, is here to bring gender equality to the industry by leading an all-female crew out to sea.
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To mark International Women’s Day on March 8, 2020, McCue will take to the wheel as part of Celebrity Cruise’s ‘#BridgeTheGap’ campaign.
Dubbed ‘Ocean’s 27’, the team will be made up of 27 women from 17 different countries who will embark upon a history-making journey to the Eastern Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale in Florida.
On the challenge, McCue – who was named the cruise line’s first female captain in 2015 – said: “Excitement does not even begin to describe how I’m feeling about working alongside these incredible, barrier-breaking women on Celebrity Edge for this truly historic sailing.”
“I am inspired every day by the amazing women we have working throughout this organisation – both on land and at sea,” she added. “They’re proof that there’s power in diversity.”
To further celebrate the barrier shattering movement, the cruise line will also launch several female-led exhibitions and art auctions alongside a cinema series.
“The lovely thing for us is that we’re the only [cruise line] that can do this because we’ve been focused on this for almost five years now,” President and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, said.
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“We have enough women across our entire brand where we can completely ‘man’ the bridge with women and we have women leaders in every aspect of our operation,” she continued. “I really hope dads and mothers of daughters – and young women themselves – see this and think, ‘Wow, I could do this’ because the reality is that in order for us to keep making progress, we need more women to want these roles.”
Impressively, positive strides towards gender equality have already been made as the cruise line now boasts three female captains in total with 22% of women working on the company’s navigational bridges – up from 3% in 2015.
For further information, please visit the official Celebrity Cruises website.
Just 2% of the world’s mariners are female, but the first ever US woman to captain a cruise ship, Kate McCue, is here to bring gender equality to the industry by leading an all-female crew out to sea.
WATCH BELOW: This Powerful Mural Is Painting A Picture Of Australia’s Vulnerable And Voiceless Children
Just 2% of the world’s mariners are female, but the first ever US woman to captain a cruise ship, Kate McCue, is here to bring gender equality to the industry by leading an all-female crew out to sea.
WATCH BELOW: This Powerful Mural Is Painting A Picture Of Australia’s Vulnerable And Voiceless Children
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