ANTAQ launches Guide to Incentive Female Leadership

The National Waterway Transport Agency (ANTAQ) launched last Friday (3) the Guide to Encouraging Female Leadership: Navigating Together. The manual was prepared by the Superintendency of ESG and Innovation (SESGI) and brings together guidelines to promote gender equality, encourage female leadership and strengthen the culture of inclusion in the waterway sector.

The launch event was held at ANTAQ’s headquarters in Brasília (DF) and was attended by representatives of public institutions and experts to discuss advances and challenges related to the female presence in decision-making spaces.

The guide is part of an institutional collection that aims to promote diversity and gender equity. Among the proposed guidelines are the establishment of goals to increase the presence of women in management roles, in addition to the adoption of indicators that allow monitoring the evolution of these actions.

The initiative is aligned with the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda, considering mainly Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5 – Gender Equality), and also with the Institutional Strategic Plan 2025-2028, the 2026 Annual Management Plan and the Environmental and Waterway Safety Agenda 2025/2026.

At the opening of the meeting, ANTAQ’s general director, Frederico Dias, highlighted that the launch represents another step in strengthening the gender equity agenda in the sector: “The guide came at an opportune time, as the transport sector as a whole, including waterways, has developed this agenda. This topic is on the agenda”. According to Frederico, initiatives like this expand the scope of the discussion and contribute to choices being made taking into account the criteria presented in the publication.

Representing the Ministry of Ports and Airports, executive secretary Thairyne Oliveira stated that the sector already has goals, tools and institutional support to advance the agenda and argued that the time is to transform this commitment into concrete actions. According to her, the challenge now is to implement the planned initiatives so that, in the coming years, the presence of women in leadership positions is increasingly significant.

After the launch ceremony, the event continued with a conversation about female trajectories and leadership, mediated by Cristina Castro. The president of Porto do Itaqui, Oquerlina Costa, participated in the debate; the director of Infra SA, Elisabeth Braga; the president of IBI Social, Eliane Sammarco; the director of ANATEL, Cristiana Camarate; and the superintendent of Sustainability, People and Innovation at ANTT, Cynthia Ruas. During the meeting, participants shared experiences about their professional trajectories and reflected on the importance of encouragement and mentoring for the training of new female leaders.