With this year’s campaign theme for International Women’s Day being Inspire Inclusion, we wanted to hear from individuals and HR professionals regarding their thoughts and insights surrounding inclusion within the maritime industry.

Temi Binitie
Business Development Director, The Seafarers’ Charity

Is the maritime industry doing enough to ensure the recruitment, retainment and development of female talent?

The maritime industry needs to do more to recruit, retain, and develop future talent, which includes female talent. It can be as simple as signposting a potential career in the industry to recruit, create an inclusive environment where equity is prioritised to retain and lastly showcasing role models to highlight development opportunities.

Do you think there are enough practices in place within the maritime industry to support women throughout their career and into leadership roles?

Sincerely, no. The maritime industry has to be better at fostering inclusivity. The maritime culture is underpinned largely by white, European, male ideologies and biases. Until this changes, women will continue to play catch up. One of my best friends, who is outside of the industry commented that the leadership in maritime industry was generally “male, pale and stale”.

Do you think the maritime industry needs more infrastructure to support women’s needs?

I don’t think this is a unique problem to the maritime industry. There is a generic ‘motherhood penalty’, which is worse if you are a black or minoritised woman – a mother can suffer up to a 34% decrease in salary after the birth of a child compared to a woman who does not have children. The cost of childcare is steadily increasing, against a backdrop of declining numbers of childcare providers in the last 3 years.

At the other end of the spectrum we have the menopause, which still feels like a tabooed topic not to mention in the workplace. The Fawcett Society research found that eight out of ten women said their employer hasn’t shared information, trained staff, or put in place a menopause absence policy. I am proud to share that my employer has done the opposite and has provided menopause training!

When was a time when you felt included within your workplace?

Right now. The Seafarers’ Charity is an exemplary EDI Leader and one which maritime companies should look to emulate or lean on to bolster their EDI ambitions. The Seafarers’ Charity is at the centre of an ecosystem of support in the maritime welfare sector. We are proud of not shying away from complex and under-discussed issues in the maritime sector. We are bold and looking to partner with corporates to influence their approach to EDI. Together, we can inspire and effect inclusion in the maritime industry.

Monica Kohli
Senior Lawyer, Gard UK – President, WISTA UK

Is the maritime industry doing enough to ensure the recruitment, retainment and development of female talent?

We have seen a change in recent years, especially in recruitment and developing careers for women at sea.

Do you think there are enough practices in place within the maritime industry to support women throughout their career and into leadership roles?

We are seeing a gap in getting women back to work after a career break/or when they take a maternity break.

Do you think the maritime industry needs more infrastructure to support women’s needs?

It does, but sometimes simple steps like normalising working from home assists in getting women in all stages able to stay at work.

When was a time when you felt included within your workplace?

Mentoring is very useful and important in making people feel heard and also guiding in the intricacies of corporate life. Even when sailing, sometimes having a guide assist in just getting through a tough time.

Anonymous

Is the maritime industry doing enough to ensure the recruitment, retainment and development of female talent?

No. Certain sectors within the industry have better female representation (HR, legal, insurance etc.) but overall is limited to middle management and below.

Do you think there are enough practices in place within the maritime industry to support women throughout their career and into leadership roles?

No. There is still a tendency to be dismissive of women, especially surrounding maternity leave.

Do you think the maritime industry needs more infrastructure to support women’s needs?

Yes, most companies do the bare minimum required of them in terms of local law, few go over and above or provide proper support.

When was a time when you felt included within your workplace?

I am included and I’m on various committees etc. but this is very much because my personality pushes it through. Too often women who are more introverted are considered not to be ambitious/interested in development and written off.

Anonymous

Is the maritime industry doing enough to ensure the recruitment, retainment and development of female talent?

I would like to acknowledge the effort made to support female talent. However, I also believe this will never be enough given the male dominated nature of the maritime industry.

Do you think there are enough practices in place within the maritime industry to support women throughout their career and into leadership roles?

I think there are professional groups that reinforce female professionals to chase leading careers; WISTA is one of the most powerful communities we have.

Do you think the maritime industry needs more infrastructure to support women’s needs?

Definitely. Our nature does impact our work performance even when this has to do with the simply monthly period we need to deal with.

When was a time when you felt included within your workplace?

I current experience this inclusion of being mentored and part of a committee and only appreciate it.

With this year’s campaign theme for International Women’s Day being Inspire Inclusion, we wanted to hear from individuals and HR professionals regarding their thoughts and insights surrounding inclusion within the maritime industry.

Anonymous
HR Professional

What are you doing to ensure the recruitment, retainment and development of female talent within your organisation?

We constantly strive to create an inclusive organizational culture. We offer a flexible working environment, we encourage a learning culture, offer equal opportunities and thus aim to be such an attractive employer not only for women but for everyone regardless of gender.

Have you put any practices in place to support women and their progression into leadership/advancement within their career? If so, what is this initiative?

We have not put this in place specifically for women but in general for our employees. We started a leadership program last year and are rolling it out further within the organization this year and next. Precisely because we strive to be an inclusive organization, we think it is important to focus not on women but on the person. In doing so, we always start by acknowledging inequality. Everyone is unique and has their own personality and wishes. By recognizing and talking about that, we hope to get the best out of the person, regardless of gender.

Has there been any changes to your infrastructure to meet the needs of women?

We certainly cater to the wishes of our employees in this. We offer maternity leave, parental leave (for women and men), care leave (for women and men), the possibility of breastfeeding during working hours. Most of it is also mandatory under Dutch law.

Anonymous
HR Professional

What are you doing to ensure the recruitment, retainment and development of female talent within your organisation?

We have several policies and manuals to ensure Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the workplace:

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy: Our approach of respecting human rights in all aspects of doing business by focusing on equal opportunities, mutual respect, fair treatment, and safety.
• Mental Health Policy: Our commitment and available services to support our employees through any challenges, that can influence their happiness, collaboration, and productivity.
• Speaking Up Policy: Our approach to encourage and empower employees, to report any business, personal or other misconducts or malpractices without any fear, pressure, or duress.
• Remote Work Policy: Provides guidance to remote employees to ensure they remain engaged and productive while balancing their professional and personal life.
• HR Manual: Inclusive Practices in CSR Activities, Handling Special Requests. Our performance review and hiring processes are based on explicit and impartial evaluation criteria.

We leverage historical data to forecast future workforce expansion and establish reasonable diversity objectives that prevent reverse discrimination. Every year, we implement various initiatives to spotlight and reward successful women in our company and beyond. In addition, we give our employees the opportunity to form groups and run their own awareness initiatives and campaigns.

We have joined the Diversity@Sea initiative aiming at collecting more data and feedback to implement measures that will improve gender and cultural diversity at sea. The data will be used to run comparative analysis with non-participating vessels to help monitor the effectiveness of these measures.

Have you put any practices in place to support women and their progression into leadership/advancement within their career? If so, what is this initiative?

We actively work with our managers to identify and break unconscious biases. We deliver DEI workshops to employees in managerial and recruitment roles, encouraging discussion around equity and inclusion, challenging behaviours that go against our values, and each person’s role in creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and heard. In addition, all new joiners are trained during their onboarding on workplace behaviours that foster an inclusive culture.

We ensure equal opportunities for career advancement by including equal number of male and female employees in our biggest leadership and career development training programmes.

We established a Female Mentorship Programme to connect shore and sea. This programme will create an additional support system and safe space, empowering new recruits to maintain regular contact, openly share their experiences, and raise concerns. By doing so, BSM will be better equipped to address these issues for all female colleagues onboard.

Has there been any changes to your infrastructure to meet the needs of women?

We offer various leave types (i.e., maternity, parental, childcare, menstruation, and work from home) according to the local laws.

Anonymous
HR Professional

What are you doing to ensure the recruitment, retainment and development of female talent within your organisation?

We try to be an attractive employer. We get more and more women as leaders. We have 51% men and 49% women in the company.

Have you put any practices in place to support women and their progression into leadership/advancement within their career? If so, what is this initiative?

We treat women and men the same. They all get the same support. We have 51% men and 49% women in the company.

Has there been any changes to your infrastructure to meet the needs of women?

In Sweden we have supportive laws, in other countries where we have offices we try to be as supportive as possible.