Gender Equality is a Maritime Issue: Examining Structural and Social Barriers to Closing the Gender Gap in the Maritime Industry.

Abstract

The past 30 years have seen an increase of women working in the maritime industry. However, the number of women in the global seafaring workforce remains low: only 2%. This paper seeks to evaluate the cultural, social, and institutional barriers to gender equality in the maritime industry, specifically those barriers which cause women to leave the maritime profession, examining the career limitations, harassment, and professional devaluation faced by women in the maritime industry. This paper bridges the gap in literature related to women in maritime by presenting the personal perceptions and experiences of what it is like to be a gender minority (female) in the maritime industry through personal interviews with 24 women in the maritime industry. These interviews offer in-depth insights to women’s personal experiences to understand what it is like to be a woman in a male dominated industry. This research finds that the barriers to equality in maritime are both structural and social. There are barriers to women entering the maritime workforce in gender bias in the education system, social acceptance of women in seafaring roles, and maritime hiring practices. Barriers to retention of women in maritime are discrimination, harassment, physical facilities on ships, and the roles of women in society and their families. Taking steps to remove the structural barriers women face in choosing and maintaining a seafaring career would have cascading impacts on attracting women to maritime and retaining them through their careers, which in turn would have cascading impacts on the cultural barriers.