Ladies on the Ocean: Women in Maritime Administration and on Ships [REPORT]

By Marek Grzybowski

Recent studies on women’s activity in maritime transport, forwarding and ports have shown that women are visible in the maritime transport industry. However, their participation in the maritime industry depends on whether it is a public or private sector, whether it is an on-shore or off-shore activity.

Women are visible in ports and shipyards, in shipping and maritime tourism and fish processing, in universities and maritime administration in Poland. Women are active in the yacht construction and marketing industry, in sea-related sports, forwarding, agency and ship management companies. Women in Polish maritime industries specialize in organizing financing for various types of maritime industry activities and insurance.

In Polish universities and research institutes, women have numerous achievements in the scientific and educational fields. They create organizations supporting women’s activity in maritime industries and economic self-governments. They are active in national and international forums, including the International Maritime Organization, the European Commission and the European Parliament. They were active at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice in June. They are visible in organizations related to navigation safety and environmental protection, sea safety and insurance.

Women in the global maritime industry
According to the latest research, women make up 19% of the workforce of national maritime authorities in Member States, but only 16% of the private sector workforce (excluding seafarers). At sea, women remain significantly underrepresented, making up just 1% of the total number of seafarers employed by the organisations surveyed, reports the IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey 2024.

– The latest dataset shows that women make up just under 19% of the total workforce surveyed, compared to 26% in 2021. The IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey highlights persistent gender inequality in the maritime sector, prompting new calls for action, the summary of the results highlights.

The IMO-WISTA Survey is conducted every three years to review the global participation of women in the maritime sector and promote gender equality. – The second Women in Maritime survey, published jointly by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA), provides new insights into gender diversity in the industry, says Josephine Latu-Sanft, Media and Communications Officer, IMO.

Źródło: „IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey 2024”. 

The report provides data on the structure and distribution of women working in the maritime sector from IMO Member States and employed in the private sector. The results of the latest survey are based on the analysis of a larger number of women working in the public and private maritime sectors.

The results of the 2024 survey are based on a diagnostic survey of 176,820 women. In 2021, the survey covered 151,979 women. It is emphasized that “In particular, there was a significant increase in the number of surveys from IMO Member States”.

Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary General of the IMO, said: “The second IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey provides valuable insights into the progress of the sector since the baseline dataset collected in the 2021 survey. The increased participation of Member States and private companies in the survey is a welcome sign of growing engagement on gender issues.”

A total of 88 IMO Member States and 608 private sector organisations responded to the latest survey, up from 45 Member States and 513 organisations that shared information with us in 2021.

Few women in the maritime business
Public organisations in the Caribbean, Europe and the Pacific reported the highest levels of female employment. They make up over 20% of the total workforce in IMO Member States, as well as in the private sector. The Pacific is the region with the highest rate of women in public sector employment, at just over 26% (1,375 women in total).

The Caribbean region leads the private sector with 63% of women in maritime business. In real terms, however, this meant only 197 women were employed in the sector. The majority of women in private maritime business are employed in Europe. The private maritime sector recorded a total of 15,457 women. In North American shipping, women make up just over 18% of all employees.

Źródło: „IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey 2024”. 

Latin America is tolerant of women in the maritime business in both the public and private sectors. A total of 3,954 women work here, which is more than 18% of the workforce. In Asia, women make up 16% of the private sector workforce (5,855 women) and 19% (17,321 women) reported as working in the surveyed Member States.

The representation of women as IMO delegates increased from 21% in 2021 to 28% in 2024. In addition, the number of women in positions of heads of maritime administrations increased from six in 2021 to 14 in 2024. This means that 15% of all Member States that responded to this survey have women at the head of their maritime administrations.

The study found that women’s representation in entry-level and support positions in maritime administrations varied by region, with Argentina, Australia and Sweden reporting increases, while Chile, Costa Rica and Norway reported decreases in the number of women in maritime administration and transport. There was an increase in the number of women in both technical and operational professions.

Maritime policies support women
National policies play an important role in activating women in the maritime industry. According to the study commissioned by IMO and WISTA, “Of the 88 Member States that responded, 73 Member States provided information on gender-sensitive workplace policies/initiatives in their maritime administrations.”

Although 17 of the 73 responding countries did not have formal strategies for employing women in the maritime industry, 35 Member States had five or more policies/initiatives. A total of 55 Member States had anti-harassment policies, and 28 of these had gender/diversity training programmes. Thirty-nine countries offer flexible working arrangements, with all but four of these offering favourable childcare policies in the workplace.

The study also explored how young women are encouraged to pursue careers in maritime businesses and administration. This is an area of ​​ongoing development. The demographic breakdown shows that the majority of women in maritime administration are aged 25-44, with no significant representation of women aged 18-24. The exception is the Argentine maritime administration.

Women’s representation at IMO meetings varies considerably. Only 22 Member States ensure a strong female presence. Canada and Norway reported that more than 50% of delegates attending IMO meetings were women. In contrast, 24 Member States had no female representation at IMO meetings.

Maritime education was a key area addressed in the survey. New data sets were introduced to explore the subject further. The aim was to distinguish between graduates of national maritime academies (focused on training seafarers) and graduates of maritime universities (offering degrees in fields such as ship design, maritime law, marine engineering, oceanography, etc.).

Źródło: „IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey 2024”

Many women in maritime administration, few in maritime business
Some Member States reported a significant increase in the number of female graduates. The survey also covered women’s networks and associations. Currently, 59 maritime administrations have dedicated women’s networks, including 49 national branches of regional associations of women in the maritime sector (WIMA) established by the IMO.

When it comes to women’s activity in the merchant navy, it is noticeable that women seafarers are still very much underrepresented. The survey shows that only 1% (2,223) of the 211,750 active seafarers from companies reported to participate in the 2024 survey are employed as officers and ratings on ships. The majority of women seafarers in the companies surveyed came from the Philippines, followed by representatives from Greece, Argentina, Canada and India, Nigeria, Turkey and the United States. The largest proportion of women seafarers served on bulk carriers and tankers.

– There is still much to be done. Women’s representation remains disproportionately low, and women make up a small part of the maritime workforce, underlining the urgent need for further engagement and action. We must redouble our efforts to support a truly diverse and inclusive maritime industry – Arsenio Dominguez

Źródło: „IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey 2024”. 

Providing insights into leadership, workforce participation, policies and education in both the public and private sectors, the IMO-WISTA report highlights significant differences between the actions of individual countries and those of shipowners, port authorities, agencies and shipping companies. Women’s representation has increased in emerging sectors such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) services and decarbonisation, while others such as bunkering and legal services have declined.

Elpi Petraki, President of WISTA International, said: “The Women in Maritime study was designed to provide real data on the state of gender diversity in the maritime sector and to offer guidance on areas that require greater attention. The aim is to inspire change and act as a collective call to action.

“Attracting, retaining and promoting women – both onshore and offshore – remains a priority for the future. However, the new data also shows how opportunities across the industry are still limited for women due to barriers such as gender stereotypes, workplace safety concerns, a lack of family-friendly policies and the ongoing gender pay gap, said Elpi Petraki, president of WISTA International.

Źródło: „IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey 2024”. 

The IMO-WISTA report provides detailed recommendations on how Member States and industry can contribute to improving gender diversity in the maritime sector, by strengthening recruitment and retention initiatives, expanding mentoring and leadership development programmes, strengthening policy implementation and ensuring a safe and supportive working environment.

As part of IMO and WISTA International’s commitment to increasing gender diversity in the maritime sector, the study and its findings contribute to the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 (UN SDG5) – achieving gender quality and empowering all women and girls – by providing comparable data to support the development of programmes and policies that encourage women to participate in the maritime industry.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for the safety of navigation and the prevention of pollution of the sea and the atmosphere from ships.

Źródło: „IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey 2024”. 

– IMO’s activities support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. IMO’s Women in Maritime capacity building programme integrates gender issues into IMO policies and procedures, while supporting access to maritime training and employment opportunities for women in the maritime sector – the press release emphasises.

Founded in 1974, Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA International) is a global organisation connecting executives and decision-makers around the world. WISTA Poland has been operating in Poland for over 30 years, currently headed by Dorota Dwulit. WISTA Poland was initiated in Poland by Wanda Dobrowolska-Parafieńczyk, who worked at the Tanker Plant of the Polish Steamship Company during her playing days.

WISTA National Associations (NWA) operate in 62 countries, providing national and regional networks, business and skills development opportunities, corporate visibility and facilitating relationships in the industry. WISTA International serves as a liaison for its network of over 6,000 members from all sectors of the maritime industry.