Careers

One of the key priorities of the ITF Seafarers Section is to help create more opportunities for women to have rewarding careers at sea. 

More women are now taking up careers in deck and engine positions. Some shipping companies, and ITF affiliates, want to open up training opportunities for women currently employed in hotel and catering roles to use their existing experience at sea to work in other departments. 

ITF affiliates taking the initiative/promoting women at sea

One such example is in Norway where the Norwegian Seafarers Union works with cruise companies to implement and promote cross-training opportunities. This applies to all crew but can be a great chance for women working at sea to develop a career outside the hotel & catering department on cruise ships.

AMOSUP in the Philippines also has an active training programme on gender equality for seafarers. They are also pushing stakeholders in the industry to make space for women by updating policies and eliminating discrimination. AMOSUP has seen the very first Filipina Master Mariner and the first Filipina Chief Engineer qualified at the Maritime Academy of Asia the Pacific (MAAP)  AMOSUP Women Tackles Gender Equality.

Other affiliates are also striving to make seafaring careers more attractive to women.  Sindmar from Brazil have a number of agreements on maternity and paternity pay and leave. The union also has a number of equality measures on addressing domestic violence and also violence at work, as well as other policies to promote diversity and non-discrimination. 

The union has now established a “Sindmar Women Index”, which aims to monitor the participation of women in maritime activity, how companies are making vacancies available and what policies are implemented so that women continue their career. Through the Sindmar Women Index, Sindmar have identified a participation rate for women of 12.8% in the total number of seafarers represented by the union.

However, this monitoring activity is not restricted to the percentage of women seafarers on board but also looks at the possibilities of career advancement and development in the employing company. 

Women and Just Transition

We believe that the urgent duty to decarbonise the industry provides an opportunity for women.  Within the shipping industry a fundamental shift is now underway to move away from conventional fuels and transition towards alternative low and zero-carbon fuel and technologies. The ITF are working alongside affiliates for a Just Transition and to maximise the social and economic opportunities of climate action. 

Research has found that up to 800,000 seafarers may require new skills by 2035 for the industry to help reach the target of keeping the increase in global temperatures up to 1.5 degrees. Diversifying the maritime workforce is a key dimension of Just Transition according to the ILO Just Transition Guidelines (2015). This creates opportunities for women to reskill and/or enter the maritime workforce, while we fight together to ensure the industry is attractive, safe, diverse, equitable and inclusive for all. 

See: Guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all | International Labour Organization

Companies actively recruiting women

A number of leading shipping companies are offering training for women. These include Anglo-Eastern Ship Management who have committed to hiring Indian women for a career at sea.

Others include Swire who have embarked upon a partnership with Pacific Towing, the Australian government and Consort Express Lines.
Eight PNG women graduate from Women in Maritime program - Daily Cargo News

 An interview with Celebrity Cruises / RCCL about increasing the participation of women in jobs at sea.

There is a common belief that work at sea is an exclusively male profession, but I do not agree with that. In our modern world, there are purely female crews who cope with all the responsibilities and challenges no worse than men do. Such women are obvious proof that everyone can work at sea.” _{Rita Kovalskaya, Electrical Engineering and Radio Electronics faculty, National University OMA}

 

I have already been on the board as a cadet and have seen girls who are doing a great job and perform their duties carefully. The matter of life is doing what you like.” _{Anastasia Balakina, Navigation faculty, National University OMA}

Mentoring

Feedback from seafarers through ITF affiliates says that mentoring can be a great way to attract more women into seafaring jobs and help retain women working in maritime. Studies have shown that, through regular communication, mentoring is a way to enhance health and wellbeing and promote safety at sea. It also helps to inspire new seafarers in their careers.

Having women as senior officers onboard can work as role models for younger, less experienced seafarers and may help them to feel more supported and less isolated onboard. 

Columbia is one company keen to attract more women into maritime and has launched a mentoring programme for female cadets. 

Women Offshore MentorSHIP virtually connects women anywhere in the world in the maritime, offshore oil & gas industries.  Here is an interview with founder, Ally Cedeno.

At  2024 The International Day for Women in Maritime, the IMO discussed the importance of mentorship and training for women in maritime 

See: Empowering women in maritime: Why mentoring can be a key solution - SAFETY4SEA

Working in the cruise industry
 

ITF affiliate unions representing workers in the cruise industry hold seminars around the world to educate seafarers on their rights, their unions and collective bargaining agreements, how to solve problems on board and how to look after their health and wellbeing. Here are some interviews from participants on why more women should work in the cruise industry.