Today marks International Women’s Day, a time to reflect once again on the exaggerated involvement of men in the shipping industry. However, there are signs that the maritime sector is becoming a better and more aspirational place for women to work.
According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), women make up 29% of the maritime workforce in different subsectors, even though only 2% of seafarers are women.
There is also a significant pay gap in shipping, with data from HR consultancy Spinnaker showing the pay gap between men and women is around 40%.
The Diversity Study Group’s 2022 annual review released last December showed progress with women starting to break through in greater numbers below the C-suite level, where 17.9% of last year’s respondents were women. Women comprise 23.8% of department heads, an increase from just 12.3% in 2021. In 2022, 38.3% of team leaders were women, up from 29% in 2021 .
Teresa Peacock, CEO of Spinnaker, commented: “The good news is that there are practical steps companies can take to close the gap and give female employees the recognition they deserve on the path to a more equitable industry.”
According to Peacock, much of this comes down to the hiring process. According to Spinnaker, it can be helpful to use gender-neutral and gender-neutral language in job descriptions, have a diverse interview panel decide on eventual hires, and improve salary transparency in job advertisements by advertising salary bands. .
“It is important to make shipping an attractive industry for women throughout their career stages, offering flexibility and continuous career development, for example. Building a strong pipeline of female talent at all levels helps keep women in the industry and highlights career growth opportunities,” said Peacock.
FullAvanteNews highlights the importance of women’s work in all links of the logistics chain, mainly in maritime transport and the presence of women among seafarers. Humans who cross the seas transporting the goods that support the joint development of humanity.
Source: Sam Chambers of Safety4Sea
