THERE is still some way to go before gender equality becomes norm in the maritime industry.

While improvements have been made over the years, with more women in operations, shipbroking, insurance, legal and training, there is still a dearth of female seafarers, and more work needs to be done to highlight the industry as an attractive and inclusive place to work.

Education at school level, plus mentoring, and a change in mindset and culture have been identified as key elements to ensure a diverse workforce.

The International Day for Women in Maritime, to be marked every year on May 18, is a step towards recognising the positive contribution women make and have made to the industry.

On the inaugural occasion this year, theInternational Maritime Organization, in collaboration with the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association, has published a report based on its Women in Maritime survey.

The report highlights how women account for just 29% of the overall workforce in the general industry and 20% of the workforce of national maritime authorities in member states of the IMO.

Wista International’s president Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou said: “As a first snapshot, this survey gives telling evidence of how much work still needs to be done. But it also shows us where there are a few bright spots. The maritime industry can see for itself which sectors are pushing ahead with diversity, and which are not.”

Gender diversity was fragmented by sector, with just 10% of women in search and rescue teams in national maritime authorities compared with 33% of female diplomats and 30% training staff. Female seafarers however made up just 2% of the crewing workforce, predominately found in the cruise sector, according to industry data, while in ship owning companies, they made up 34% of the workforce.

“Benchmarking the current state of the sector is vital to measure where we are, and where we need to go,” said the IMO’s secretary-general Kitack Lim. “By actively empowering women with the requisite skills, maintaining a barrier-free working environment, we create truly sustainable systems of gender equality.”

While changes have been seen in women entering the maritime sector, the figure of 2% for female seafarers has not been crossed, according to Svitzer training master Renee Jodhan based in Trinidad & Tobago.

Speaking on a webinar hosted by Women in Maritime Association Caribbean, Ms Jodhan said it was easier for women to get jobs onshore, but they were also needed on the bridge, as officers, as well as engineers, and the goal was to see an increase here.

It was up to individual companies to take the initiative as women were the most underutilised resource, she said.

Stream Marine Training, a Glasgow-based centre, has signed up to Maritime UK’s “Women in Maritime Pledge” as it helps to bring more positive change to the industry.

“The industry has come a long way in the past decade in recognising the vital role women have to play,” said SMT’s chief executive Martin White. “There are some fantastic female leaders in the sector who also act as inspirational role models for younger women interested in pursuing a career in shipping.”

The company has an equal split of gender in various roles, including five female ex-seafarers, and other women who have marketing, legal, human resources and finance sector backgrounds.

“Their transferable skills are an asset to maritime,” he said, adding that the UK’s officer cadet management company (SMC) is actively promoting merchant navy officer cadetships to potential female cadets, with two currently in training.

Kellie McKechnie, who works as a training manager for SMC, started working at sea during her late teens and believes working in such an environment has formed the person she is today.

“When you sail at a young age it makes you very self-reliant and you learn a lot of practical skills from an all-male crew,” she said.

Samantha McCormick, operations manager at the training company Stream Marine Training, enjoyed a 10-year career at sea as a deck officer, before coming ashore.

“There’s definitely more women choosing this career now and going to sea,” she said. “This has helped shape the industry.”

For example, when she first went to sea, there were no boiler suits suitable for women, but by the time she left, there was an option for a woman-specific boiler suit, which was “a massive step”.

At SMT, half of the senior executive team are women.

“This definitely helps to attract more females to the industry,” said the group’s operations director Katy Womersley. “We are also involved in various science, technology, engineering and mathematics projects and primary school initiatives to introduce girls and all children from a variety of backgrounds to maritime.”

Mentoring, training and education at a young age were key elements to seeing in a more diverse workforce, according to Columbia Shipmanagement Limited’s head of diversity and inclusion Claudia Paschkewitz.

The company is thus investing in many programmes, including student visits to its offices, as well as apprenticeships. It is also embarking on confidential group sessions to ensure a positive working environment.

According to Gina Panayiotou, founder of Oceans Arena, a clear to-do list would ensure greater gender diversity.

The list includes measures such as mandatory training on gender sensitisation, as well as a rewriting of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, to include this. Other elements include ensuring job security and progression, even after maternity leave.  

“We need to be training people, we need men as allies, more women leaders as role models,” she said. “We need to explain the value of environment social governance, raise awareness of not only the existence of careers at sea but of the numerous options, what it entails and what a career projection in this sector looks like”.

She added: “And this has to be a global initiative, with policies and procedures which do not allow scope for failure”.

On the inaugural Women in Maritime day, the Mission to Seafarers welfare charity has issued a report to highlight the key challenges faced by women at sea, such as working in male-dominated environments, as a talking point for how organisations can tailor their support to contribute towards a better future for female seafarers.

“We are making a clear and firm commitment to women seafarers everywhere, that we will respond to their needs and find ways of supporting them through our network of chaplains, volunteers and seafarers’ centres,” said the charity’s regional director for Europe Revd Ijeoma Ajibade.