Today is the day of the Women in Shipping Summit in Manila. I was looking forward to the event and to share my lessons on the stage in Manila. However, other commitments have meant I had to change my plans. Instead of being in sunny Manila I am in English countryside trying to warm myself up in front of the fire.
Despite not being on the stage today I decided to share my thoughts on Women in Shipping, anyway. I would like you to read this with an open mind, and I will do my best to explain something which is pretty obvious to many, yet not to everyone – why we need to be proactive in attracting women to our exciting industry and how to do this.
I will spare you detailed numbers, but would like to reflect on an old mantra we have been hearing for years – the industry-wide shortage of experienced and qualified crew. We have been discussing the subject for over a decade (or longer). There are some cadetship programs; some better than others, but only a handful of companies have an actual plan and succession strategy. Even less organizations have a proactive approach to attracting women to shipping.
It would be an obvious move to focus on 50% of society and tap into this resource. Yet, it is not being done. Yes, it seems that we are getting better, however progress doesn’t seem to be going beyond slogans. A handful of companies have achieved tangible results and they are usual cruise companies, who see clear opportunity in attracting women to serve in their fleet. Other segments of shipping have some hard lessons to learn.
Let me draw you a picture:
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In the merchant navy (excluding cruise industry on this occasion), on average there is one female seafarer for every 75 male seafarers. In other words one woman on board of every third merchant navy ship. One woman. Let that sink in.
While we are discussing the shortage of the crew (primarily officers), we are ignoring a massive part of society which could (over time) remedy our industry aches. On top of solving marine HR problem, we could empower communities. Encouraging young girls to enter maritime education would help families to outgrow poverty and in turn reduce crime levels.
Big words one could say, but these are very real effects that education and employment have on lives. This makes for a powerful reason to focus on education and equip crewing teams with the tools to actively seek female seafarers.
In business research there is a body of evidence that corporations perform best when they have the best people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives 1. While I am yet to come across similar quantitative research in shipping (particularly on gender diversity of on board teams), after hours spent discussing the matter with masters and chief engineers who sailed with female seafarers I am assured that findings from business research can be applied to on board performance.
In order to gain traction on inclusiveness and diversity, leaders should map objectives and milestones which will assist in achieving the goal.
Start with gap analysis and agree on what you want to achieve in the area of diversity and inclusiveness – set the goal (which should be realistic, measurable and set in time). In order to measure the progress agree on relevant KPIs: i.e. number of female cadets on board; number of female seafarers interviewed for the role, training for shore and seagoing personnel re: unconscious bias. This will make for a great start. The teams on board and ashore should be involved in this work from the very start.
It seems like we are slowly making progress in shipping.
In the UK we have Women in Maritime Charter where companies pledge ‘’”We are committed to building an employment culture that actively supports and celebrates gender diversity, at all levels, throughout our organisation, and our industry” 2
But we need more! Much more.
We need IMO to step up and consider ways for ship owners and ship managers to make some concrete steps in having more women in their fleets.
We need leaders who are committed to the case.
One of the ways to go forward is starting with appointment of inclusion and diversity officers; insist that recruitment teams will actively bring female seafarers to the interview process; work on your cadetship programme – this is very organic way of diversifying your workforce.
Assure that your just culture, policies and procedure safeguard position of men and women on board; that your quality management system has non bullying, anti-sexual harassment policies in place; assure that the drive for diversity is intrinsic part of company culture; that your teams believe in it.
The change may not be easy, it will not be immediate, but it is inevitable.
Sail safe and if you need any further pointers, if you feel overwhelmed by the subject, or if you don’t know where to start, do get in touch and I will help you, You can email me on: joanna.sawh@poseidon-consulting.co.uk
Stay well,
Joanna
