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.

P.B. Subbiah
HR Director, Pacific Basin Shipping

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

We have a scholarship program in maritime schools where we deliberately choose more girls than boys so that we increase the intake of women at the entry level.
We have gone from zero to >65 female seafarers on our ships in the last four years.
We have policies and practices in place to support new mothers.
We conduct outreach programs for secondary school girl students in collaboration with WISTA.
We are in the process of formalizing our global DEI strategy to better articulate what we do and where we want to go.

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?

Our fundamental objective is to promote a culture where our female colleagues never have to leave their jobs subsequent to childbirth because the transitional challenges are too much to cope with. We want to help ease their transition back into full-time work. To this end, we allow new mothers the option of working from home with full pay for 3 months after the completion of their statutory maternity leave so that their transition back into full-time work is made more manageable. We have gone from zero to >65 female seafarers on our ships in the last four years and we conduct outreach programs for secondary school girl students in collaboration with WISTA.

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

In addition to the answers above, we are fitting our offices with lactation rooms for new mothers. Our headquarters in Hong Kong already have them. Menopausal female colleagues who need additional cooling facilities like desk fans, etc. are fully sponsored by the company.

Anonymous
HR Professional

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

Recruitment – We hire solely based on competency and skillsets that matches with our job roles. Benefits are the same for both males and females.

Retain – We give females the same opportunities for a cross-departmental job transfer if they are found suitable for an internal opening. Head of Dept are encouraged to allow female employees to go on extended maternity leave, if required. Work environment caters to requirement of nursing mothers.

Development – Equal opportunity for females to be considered for career progression. Considerations are solely based on merit performance.

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?

Our Global Head of Research is a female. Again, considerations for promotions are based on performance.

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

We allow extension of leave or adhoc work-from-home arrangements, whenever there is a need to, for female employees with commitments at home.

Elena Maniatopoulou-Hadjipanayi
Chief People Officer, Tototheo Maritime Ltd

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

We monitor gender ratios to ensure diversity, equity and inclusion remain at the top of our agenda.

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?

On-the-job coaching and mentoring, participation in WISTA initiatives, learning opportunities.

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

We support flexile work arrangements, promoting i-deals where necessary to support our workforce

Anonymous
HR Professional

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

We’re hiring based on skills, experience and potential to the position. Gender would not be a consideration factor.

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?

No particular practices focusing on women’s development.

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

Yes, we do provide breast feeding room facility, and full pay maternity leave with no. of days above statutory requirements.

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.

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.

Simone Ramos
Superintendent Ports & Logistics, Lockton Brasil

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

I believe that the industry has made real progress with the commitment to developing female talent, especially with the increase in female participation in C-Level positions and recruitment with opportunities for women. I see that we are in a process of journeys and steps that are being taken in favour of equity, but there are still issues to be overcome.

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 practices are developing, I see companies with significant mentoring programs, succession in senior positions and career plan development. These are essential initiatives to support women in leadership positions and are led by the board of each company, which is extremely important for much-needed change within the industry.

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

Many companies in the maritime industry already offer maternity leave above what is required by law. On the other hand, women have additional needs, such as caring for elderly parents, who are generally under their responsibility and require time and special care and greater support for their families. menopause and childcare topics.

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

There was no milestone, it is a process, an evolution that occurs in waves, there are moments when I realize that the female presence in some spaces is seen as audacity and others when I manage to make myself present and be respected as a professional. I understand that the process towards gender equality is collective and involves women and men. We are walking. Today I feel more included than yesterday and, I’m sure, tomorrow will be even better.

Vuslat Ubogu
Director of Legal Affairs, Yildirim Group

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

The maritime industry has finally accepted that women are not giving up! Therefore, all the doors we have been knocking on, are beginning to open one by one. So, my answer is quite positive; female talents are no longer being ignored in the sector.

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

The maritime industry is still male-dominated and full of challenges for women in their leadership aspirations. Unfortunately, we are still far from having equal representation of men and women at higher levels. On the other hand, women have learned how to navigate obstructions in business life and alter them slowly, which means better days ahead…

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

Absolutely! But in addition, men should be equally given benefits such as andropause support, paternity leave and childcare support as well in order to eliminate the illusion that women have other issues in life distracting them but men do not.

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

I have experienced my own challenges and faced gender discrimination in my career as well; but, I have also encountered very valuable colleagues, mentors and leaders who encouraged me to show who I am and add my values to the business. I can proudly say that I always feel respected and appreciated at my office.

Anonymous

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

Still some efforts needed. There are still very few women in technical or management roles.

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

There are too few women at the board or in management positions. They are not often considered for management roles due to existing biais and lack of supports.

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

Additional childcare options would be helpful.

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

Part of a cross departmental group in charge of the decarbonisation matters for the company.

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.

Val Cannon
CEO/Founder, SeaSavvy Coaching & Consulting (Certified Hello7 Business Coach)

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

No. The maritime industry has made improvements over the past 20 years, but the numbers don’t lie. According to the 2021 report from BIMCO & ICS, women only represent about 1.2% of seafarers. To date, I have not been able to find any statistics for how many women overall work in the industry. That alone shows a lack of actionable concern.

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

These are limited. Often, as women move up in the industry, they continue the same limiting practices that men do. The practice of keeping other women small is widespread. There needs to be a lot more professional development, not just for women, but for all future and current leaders to shift these practices to more inclusive ones.

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

Although it is true that women still bear the brunt of childcare, this is actually a whole family issue. This also does not take into consideration childcare leave for same-sex couples. Yes, more childcare and paternity/maternity leave needs to be provided. Conversations around menopause support certainly also need to be addressed.

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

There have been multiple occasions I was mentored and helped along through highly political systems. They do exist but can be difficult to find.

Gina Panayiotou
ESG Manager, West P&I

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

We still lack basics such as recruitment policies which facilitate diversity, or taking minor steps such as asking recruiters to provide a 50-50 talent pool of male-female especially in respect to senior and C-Suite roles and making it the norm for men to also take parental leave. DE&I policies are also still very weak and many times board members and managers have not been trained to be able to appreciate how to support female talent. This is a holistic change management process which requires great competency, primarily from HR and Board familiarisation on what more can be done.

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 some great initiatives, such as the IMO focusing on diversity, ESG reporting standards and associations such as WISTA which are successfully highlighting the need to create a better industry for women. However, the greatest change can only be driven by internal policies and cultures which are genuinely invested in supporting the females within their organization, seeking out talent and being able to provide them with a platform to shine.

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

Yes, it needs to truly understand diversity and have the willingness and intent to be more flexible and provide pathways for women to be able to grow, develop and work around their needs. End of the day what should matter is that the works get done, not whether you sit in an office for fixed hours etc. People will deliver much better if they feel comfortable to be themselves and feel understood, whether they are menopausal, just had a child etc. and we need to make sure they feel comfortable to share their needs and that those needs are then translated into effective infrastructure.

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

The last time I felt included, was when I was appreciated for who I am and what I bring to the table – no requirement placed to “fit in with the rest.” Often organizations seek out talent (female or other) and have the expectation that coming into the company this person needs to adapt to the company’s “culture” – that’s no longer how it works, inclusive is the only culture you should be aiming for!