Seaways – August 2019

Feature: Women in Maritime

Read Seaways online at http://www.nautinst.org/seaways August 2019 |  Seaways  |   21

Navigating the hazards

W

e are all familiar with the requirements to prepare a
berth to berth voyage plan for a vessel. As part of the
planning we identify and address hazards that the vessel
may encounter, looking ahead to fi nd safe passage. But
do we do the same for our own personal voyages?
In this series of articles promoting and empowering women in
maritime we have been doing just that – learning from the past to help
set the course for the future. We know that the hazards that women in
maritime face are many and varied. Just as in preparing a passage plan,
I believe we need to prepare, and implement, guidelines to navigate
the hazards of gender equality, diversity and inclusion.

Appraising
The IMO Resolutions tells us that ‘All information relevant to the
contemplated voyage or passage should be considered’. On our voyage
to equality, this means taking stock of where we are.
A 2013 Deloitte report found that, when employees think their
organisation supports diversity – when they all feel included –
innovation increased by 83%. In a nutshell, diversity is good for the
bottom line of any organisation. A 2012 McKinsey study found that
companies with a diverse executive board showed a 95% higher return.
How does our own Nautical Institute fare? A review of the
membership for 2018 shows that of close to 7,000 members, 2.8% are
women. Breaking it down a bit more, we see the largest percentage
is associate members (AMNI) at 36%, and the lowest percentage for
FNI and AFNI (both at 0.9%). Members (MNI) refl ect the average
for membership, at 3%. But there is a catch – for years gender wasn’t
included in the information collected. Like many other organisations,
the expectation was that the membership would be male. The need
for base line data is now recognised, with a number of organisations
working to determine the actual percentage of women in the industry.

Planning

On the basis of our appraisal, we begin to prepare a detailed voyage or

passage plan – looking at the entire voyage from berth to berth.

In recent months we have heard of many concerns about the

treatment of women in the workplace, and the need for visibility. The

NI SE Australia branch initiative to post a profi le of a women working

in the maritime industry for each day of 2019 embodies the need for

visibility and normalisation of women in the many roles in maritime.

With so few females in these roles, we each ‘stand out’, and other

women in that role tend to be generalised by those who have gone

before. We know this, and we feel the burden to be better, to stand

out, to help pave the way. And it can be exhausting! On the fl ip side,

if a woman makes a mistake, it also stands out – and the repercussions

from that mistake may be generalised to other women in that role.

Women may feel pressured to ‘fi t in’ and promote or express a

gender biased comment, which often is cited as being more credible

than when a male says the same thing. So, by expressing (even

inadvertently) a disparaging cultural attitude towards other women,

refl ecting views that are prevalent in a male dominated environment,

we are legitimising cultural and gender biases, which continues the cycle.

Part of standing watch is to watch out for each other, to promote

others. Yet, in the past, there hasn’t been much room for women in

non-traditional roles. Historically, with so few women in these roles,

the thought was that there may only be room for one – one female

navigation offi cer, one female engineer, one female CEO in the

industry – but these days of tokenism are gone (we hope). This means

that the goal of equality really is that – equality.

When planning, we need to consider the end goal – equality,

diversity and inclusion – and look at what we need to do to get there.

Factors to consider include:

O Promotion and advocacy – with supportive employers, colleagues,

partners and families;

O Changing the environment – inclusive policies, breaking down

power structures;

O Changing expectations and actively working for equality, not just

balance, and addressing the unconscious bias bred into the system;

O Ensuring physical and psychological safety – for all. This includes

appropriate personal protective equipment as well as action to

address imbalances in the workplace;

O Supporting and valuing innovation – realising the gains that come

with diversity and inclusion through strength in differences.

Execution and Monitoring

During the execution of our passage plan, IMO advises that the

‘progress should be closely, and continuously monitored’.

While we are still in the appraising and planning phase, it can be

diffi cult to consider what the execution and monitoring for women in

maritime, indeed for diversity and inclusion, will look like. What we

do know is that men, and women, need to support the move to gender

equality, promote diversity and inclusion.

We still have much work to do in navigating the hazards, but we are

beginning to chart the route.

Jillian Carson-Jackson FNI, FRIN

Senior Vice President, The Nautical Institute

Grade 2018

Total No. No. of women % women

Hon. FNI 22 1 (The Princess

Royal)

4.5

FNI 534 5 0.9

AFNI 2,061 18 0.9

MNI 3,733 109 3

AMNI 14 5 36

AMNI (S) 386 54 14

Total 6,750 192 2.8%

Table 1 – Summary of NI membership, 2018