Gender pioneer in marine coatings

Pioneer

“A lot has happened since I joined Jotun more than 20 years ago,” Anna Pionka says. “And now that there are more women in the industry, we are valued not for our gender, but our contributions!”

For this year’s campaign, the International Women’s Day organization has chosen the theme 'Accelerate Action'. This highlights the urgency of advancing gender equality. Born in Gdynia, Poland and working as a sales manager for Jotun West Europe, Pionka is a great role model in this respect.  

Starting her career, she never expected to end up selling marine coatings.

“Even though I have spent most of my life near the ports and shipyards at the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, I never imagined myself building a career in the maritime industry,” she says.

“Shipping was not a particular interest of mine and besides, it wasn’t seen as a very welcoming environment for women.”  

Breaking barriers

However, that was about to change.  

After studying environmental protection and management at the University of Gdansk, as well as pursuing a master’s degree in finance and economics, Pionka started her career in a tobacco company. A few years later, she learned about an opening in Jotun – and got the job.

“I worked for three months as an administrator, then moved to Customer Service. That helped me learn the business, so when a position became available in sales in 2007, I was ready,” she says.

Pionka acknowledges that working in sales was a challenge. Polish shipowners were not used to dealing with women.  

“At the time, it was a very male-dominated world, so not everyone took me seriously,” she says. “But I kept at it, and in time, began to win their trust and build friendly relations.” 

Pionka went on to postgraduate studies and specialized in anticorrosion protection. Recently, she has also received a highly acclaimed inspector certificate.

“This has helped me build credibility, but mostly I focus on developing relationships with key players,” she says. 

Today, shipowners with large fleets are on her customer list. A key priority is showing them that marine paints is not a commodity. By choosing premium coating products, her customers realized they could reduce both fuel costs and emissions.