1 of Shipping 100’s most important women: Mary Carmen Barrios

After more than 25 years in the industry, Barrios is adamant that we still must do better to attract more women, especially in front positions such as operations. "There is still - after all these years - very few women in shipping. When you are in a male-dominated sector as cargo operations is, you must prove yourself twice or three times harder to show that you are competent. I guess many can relate to this if you are part of the minority gender in your field. It has not been easy, especially when I started in the business."

Barrios stresses the importance of continuing to build a clear career path for women in shipping. "If more women were aware of the variety of disciplines interacting in a marine terminal, we would have higher female participation in the industry."