Not only do men outnumber women in the global maritime industry, they are also holding onto all the good jobs. This is according to a recent survey by shipping journal Lloyd’s List which reported that the number of women employed in the industry decreased as seniority increased – regardless of job function or location. “Women are siloed off into low-paying roles, typically administrative, junior and professional-level roles with very few reaching managerial level or above,” said a spokesperson from Lloyd’s List. According to South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) master mariner, Thembela Taboshe, and Bidfreight Port Operations director, Tarryn Lange, the same is true of South Africa’s maritime industry. “The maritime industry is largely a technical environment and the technical jobs are still being done mostly by men, with women traditionally taking on the support or administrative roles,” Lange told FTW. Taboshe however believes that this depends on which area of the industry you are examining. “For instance, within port operations one could say that the disparities are not as great. The gap closes off when looking at the ratio of men to women employed on the tugs and other port functions such as harbour masters and vessel traffic services,” she told FTW. “However, if you look at vessels trading in international waters you could probably find maybe one woman with 18 men,” she said. “Within export/ imports and sales on the shore-based side, you’d probably find a number of women in functionary positions, but still not enough to call it proportional.” Lange told FTW that there were several obstacles to employing more women in the maritime workforce – such as the environment, physical or manual labour, and safety aspects of the industry. “The maritime industry is a technical operational environment, so it’s usually long hours and possibly shift work – literally 24/7/365,” she said. Taboshe pointed out that women usually had to work twice, or even three times as hard as men in the industry in order for them to be equally recognised – especially as women were usually seen as relevant only for administrative functions. She also pointed out that women who were considered for high-level operational positions were usually more mature, which could be attributed to the reduced chances of them starting a family. “Younger women are always faced with the question of ‘when do you plan on starting a family?’ in job interviews and they never know whether or not to answer that question as honestly as they can or as honestly as they should if they want the job,” added Taboshe. “Companies should willingly develop more women in business,” said Lange. “Through regulation and monitoring, those companies that have maybe been resistant to bringing more women into business are now compelled to do so.”
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The maritime industry is largely a technical environment and the technical jobs are still being done mostly by men.
