4 Factors that impact gender equality in the maritime industry
There are many and complex factors that influence the level of gender equality in the maritime sector.
On the one hand, a lack of knowledge about the maritime industry and challenges related to the working environment, attitudes, harassment, adaptation of equipment, the practical design of the workplace, working conditions and terms of employment may represent obstacles to female participation in the industry. Some of these challenges are perceived as being more significant at sea than in onshore part of the maritime sector.
On the other hand, the use of role models, inclusive recruitment strategies, awareness-raising work, good whistleblowing routines and life-phase-oriented personnel policies can aid in recruiting and retaining of women in the industry. It is the companies, and especially company managements who are responsible for facilitating gender equality in the workplace. To what extent companies focus on gender equality work and the types of measures they are working with vary considerably.
Recruitment
The Norwegian labour market is gender-segregated. Only 15 per cent of Norwegian employees hold occupations that are gender balanced, i.e., more than 40 per cent of both women and men among the employees.12 Among other things, this is due to young people making gender-segregated choices when choosing enducation and career path. Norwegian Official Report (NOU) 2019: 19 sheds light on challenges relating to gender equality among children and young people, and notes that the scope they have when selecting their future careers is shaped and limited by gender stereotypes at a structural level.13 Children and young people develop an early impression of the typical jobs that women and men have, and this influences the part of the labour market that they imagine could suit them.
The same is also the case when choosing maritime education programmes and occupations. The figures in Chapter 3 showed that there is a low proportion of women in maritime education programmes and occupations. The proportion of women is particularly low in maritime study programmes at upper secondary schools and vocational schools, and women start maritime study programmes at a later stage than men. When a study programme or occupation is strongly dominated by one gender, this dominance creates a barrier for those in the minority.14 The gender-segregated labour market impacts recruitment to various occupations, industries, and sectors. The low proportion of women in the maritime industry means that there are few female role models in the industry and reduces the likelihood of girls considering a maritime career path.
It is a challenge for the maritime industry that children and young people, irrespective of gender, are not aware of the career opportunities in the industry, and that career counsellors at schools do not have sufficient knowledge about the various pathways to a maritime career. This can make it challenging to recruit more young people to the industry. This applies to both girls and boys. Lack of knowledge is also one of the explanations for why young people generally choose educational pathways that are traditionally dominated by one gender.15 Research shows the importance of recruiting young people to specific industries at an early age.16 The fact that women start maritime study programmes later than men indicates that early efforts and knowledge work targeted especially at girls may contribute to increasing the proportion of women in the maritime industry and education.
The use of role models and women in senior positions can help recruit women, retain the women who are already working in the industry and show girls and younger women that it is possible to carve out a career in the maritime industry. Among other things, it has been shown that the use of role models has had a positive effect on the recruitment of girls to educational programmes in which they are significantly underrepresented.17
The report from Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences notes that companies focusing on gender equality and diversity in their recruitment efforts can have a significant effect. Highlighting the fact that both women and men in different phases of life can be a suitable fit for the company can make a positive contribution to gender equality and diversity, for example, by using gender-neutral language and advertising and using images when promoting the company.
Boks 4.1 Initiatives from the industry
The Norwegian Shipowners’ Association and Maritime Forum have established the Maritime Career Ambassador Programme, which aims to showcase young people who are currently studying or at an early phase of their careers in the industry as active role models. The intention is to present them as examples of the opportunities that exist in the maritime industry in order to inspire the target groups in the 13-17 and 18-25 age ranges to explore what this industry has to offer. Today, half of the ambassadors are women.
Maritime Bergen’s Et hav av muligheter (A Sea of Opportunities), is a science, technical and maritime recruitment event for girls and boys in lower and upper secondary school in the Bergen area. Kvinner i Kuling (Women in a Gale), which is also an initiative from Maritime Bergen, aims to promote the maritime industry as an attractive career path for female students and to connect students and maritime companies.
Boks 4.2 Velg Teknologi (Choose Technology)
The Federation of Norwegian Industries’ Velg teknologi (Choose Technology) campaign is aimed at getting more girls and boys to choose technology courses at upper secondary school. The campaign involves various social media influencers visiting industrial companies and using their channels to talk about industrial career opportunities. In the five years that the Federation of Norwegian Industries has carried out these campaigns, there has been a 135 % increase in the number of girls applying for technology courses in first year upper secondary school.
Boks 4.3 Girls and Technology
Norwegian maritime companies are reporting a major need for digital and technological expertise. Technical professionals, engineers and realists are in demand, and these are specialist fields with a very low proportion of women. To ensure that companies acquire the best and broadest expertise, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO), Norwegian Society of Engineers and Technologists (NITO) and the Norwegian Centre for STEM Recruitment are working to get more girls to apply for technology education programmes through the Jenter og teknologi (Girls and Technology) project.
Through collaboration with a number of different stakeholders, annual conferences and open days are arranged for girls in lower and upper secondary schools, where role models and companies inspire and show girls the opportunities that exist within science and technology. The goal of the project is to increase the proportion of women in technical vocational courses, vocational colleges and colleges and universities.
Attitudes, culture and working environment
The report from Innland Norway University of Applied Sciences and input meetings with the industry revealed that the maritime industry is characterized by having a rough work environment, particularly at sea. The work environment can be found to be inflexible, with an expectation that young people and those who are new to the industry must accept course language and brusque attitudes. This can result in young people and new employees not feeling welcome and may be a possible reason for them dropping out during or after their apprenticeship.
There are several challenges associated with being a minority in the workplace. In male-dominated professions women might find that they are not taken seriously and must prove their competence. They might also be held accountable for the efforts of other women based on generalised attitudes and at times limited experience with women in similar positions. This can also manifest itself in the form of different expectations to women and men in terms of work life balance, and through communication. Many women experience that their gender is pointed out, for example by being referred to as a «female captain».
To improve gender equality it is necessary to change attitudes and focus on attitudes towards women in all parts of the maritime industry, especially at sea. This requires preventive, long-term, and targeted work. Educational institutions and companies need to actively challenge stereotypes and raise awareness among students and staff about issues such as the language that is used. Establishing gender equality work with the company’s executive management and as part of the company’s strategy can be an effective mean to improve gender equality and diversity. Mentor programmes can also assist in promoting inclusion and changing work culture by creating an arena for dialogue and learning between young women in the industry and experienced managers.
Since women are often a minority in the workplace, networks, and events for women in the industry can create a space for them to share experiences and discuss how they experience being a minority. It can also create a forum for obtaining guidance in connection with incidents such as harassment and discrimination.
An international industry
While the Norwegian maritime industry primarily uses Norwegian labour, almost a quarter of the workforce is of foreign nationality. The industry employs people from many parts of the world. This expands the recruitment pool and contributes to greater diversity but can also result in challenges for the working environment. In the report from Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences and in the input meetings arranged by the Norwegian Government in connection with its work on the strategy, it was revealed that demographic differences in among other things age and culture can have an impact on gender equality in the maritime industry. This appears to be a particularly relevant issue in the offshore part of the industry. It is therefore important that the employer is aware of potential cultural differences between different nationalities in the workplace and how this impacts the working environment.
Boks 4.4 WISTA
The Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) is an international organisation that works towards achieving greater diversity. WISTA Norway has over 200 members. The organisation engages in information and promotional work and serves as a meeting place for women in the industry and has been highlighted as an important stakeholder in gender equality work in the maritime industry. Among other things, the organisation offers the mentor programme WISTA Maritime Meet-Up Program. The programme offers women in the maritime industry guidance from mentors who work as managers in the industry.
Harassment and the threshold for whistleblowing
Harassment and sexual harassment hinder gender equality in the labour market. Gender, age, and employment status are key risk factors for being subjected to harassment in the workplace. The report from Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences revealed that many women have experienced or know others who have experienced harassment and sexual harassment in the workplace in the maritime industry, especially among seafarers. However, there are significant differences between different enterprises, as well as between ships and crews. The reasons for this include how management deals with inappropriate attitudes and behaviour, and the extent to which management and employees know how to handle instances of harassment.
In accordance with the activity – and reporting obligation, companies are obliged to work actively, purposefully, and systematically to prevent harassment, sexual harassment, and gender-based violence. Many of the companies in the maritime industry have systems for whistleblowing and routines for following up on harassment. However, there may be several obstacles to using these types of channels, including inadequate information about the whistleblowing channel and a high threshold for reporting incidents due to close ties between superior and subordinate crew members and between employees. Some companies do not have a whistleblowing channel. It is also a problem that whistleblowing is not taken seriously and that there are consequences for the whistle-blower, rather than for the person committing the harassment. Both harassment and poor whistleblowing routines can deter women from wanting to work in the maritime industry and cause women who are already working in the industry to leave. Good routines and systems for handling whistleblowing cases and undesired incidents are crucial for preventing and dealing with harassment. The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud has, in cooperation with the Labour Inspection Authority, prepared a guide on sexual harassment. The guide provides practical assistance for preventing and managing sexual harassment through six necessary measures (see box).
Boks 4.5 The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud and Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority’s guide to prevent and deal with sexual harassment
- Assess risks
- Codes of conduct
- Standard operating procedures
- Violation must lead to consequence
- Clarify management’s responsibility
- Talk about sexual harassment
As a supervisory authority the Norwegian Maritime Authority plays a role in preventing seafarers from experiencing sexual harassment at work. In May 2022 inspectors at the Norwegian Maritime Authority participated in the «Course in preventing sexual harassment through supervision». The course was digital and was held by the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority and the Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombud. The goal was to provide the participants with knowledge about sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, how this can be prevented and how to handle this if instances of harassment should occur. This will better equip the Norwegian Maritime Authority’s inspectors to carry out their duty to provide guidance in these types of cases. The inspectors’ checklists are an important tool in the Norwegian Maritime Authority’s supervisory work. An analysis of the checklists has been initiated to ensure this issue is addressed in an even more effective manner. The Norwegian Maritime Authority also has information18 regarding harassment and sexual harassment on its website. The information refers to the steps the Norwegian Maritime Authority has taken to prevent harassment and specifies what services to contact for those who experience harassment.
Boks 4.6 Collaboration agreement to prevent and stop sexual harassment
The Norwegian Maritime Authority has entered into a collaboration agreement with the Norwegian Fishermen’s Association, Norwegian Coastal Fishermen’s Association, Norwegian Seafood Federation, Norwegian Seamen’s Association, Pelagic Association, pressure group Hun Fisker and the Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombud. The objective of the agreement is to contribute to better understanding of harassment and sexual harassment, and how this can be combated. The work includes the development of course materials, training and skills development for managers, safety representatives and employee representatives, as well as a review of whistleblowing routines. The partnership is initially foreseen to last until September 2023.
Working conditions and terms of employment
Gender segregation in the labour market is closely linked to wages, working hours, working conditions and career development. If the working conditions in the industry are worse for women than men, this can contribute to a gender imbalance. In addition to impacting recruitment, pay differences or different prerequisites for career development can make it difficult to keep women in the industry.
Maritime enterprises face challenges in retaining women during a phase of life in which they want to start a family. This particularly applies to women who work on board ships. Chapter 3 showed that women working on board ships belong to households with very few children compared to the average for the population. This may indicate that life-phase-based care tasks related to pregnancy and responsibility for young children have an impact on whether women remain in sailing positions, and that many women move into onshore positions after having started a family. The threshold for returning to a sailing position after a period in an onshore position is influenced by the need to renew certificates. There is a higher cost associated with renewing expired certificates. This is where differences may arise between men and women for example due to pregnancy and maternity leave.
More women experience negative social and financial consequences in the workplace after they have been on parental leave among other things because they often take longer periods of leave than their male colleagues. Some companies might lack in awareness of this. Furthermore, there are reports of instances in which men are encouraged to take shorter parental leave which reinforces this imbalance. Parental leave can be perceived as particularly poorly adapted to the everyday work of seafarers, who often have working hours that require them to be away for extended periods of time. This is considered especially challenging when both parents work at sea.
Life-phase-oriented personnel policy is therefore highlighted as being an important measure for greater gender equality in the maritime industry and especially for work at sea. Efforts need to be made for there to be greater acceptance of women and men taking necessary leave, and to ensure that the involvement of fathers in the caregiving work can also provide women with greater opportunities to practise their profession. It is important that each individual enterprise has the necessary knowledge about the rules for leave of absence in the Ship Labour Act and Working Environment Act to prevent an extra burden being placed on the employee who will be taking leave. Arrangements that enable employees to maintain the necessary certificates for a period while working in an onshore position can contribute to more people returning to sailing positions after having established a family.
Specific information concerning the rules governing leave of absence for seafarers
Chapter 7 of the Ship Labour Act contains provisions relating to leave of absence. The chapter covers the right to leave of absence for employees in connection with pregnancy, childbirth, and adoption, in the event of illness to children and childminders and in connection with the care and nursing of close relatives. It also grants the right to leave of absence in connection with education, military service, and the exercise of public office. The entitlement to financial benefits, which are supposed to replace lost income during a leave of absence, is stipulated in the National Insurance Act. The chapter also contains a provision concerning the employee’s duty to notify the employer of a leave of absence.
The provisions pertaining to leave of absence in the Ship Labour Act correspond with the provisions concerning leave of absence in the Working Environment Act. However, there are some differences to reflect the special conditions that apply at sea. For example, for employees on board ships on longer voyages it may be difficult to have leave approved at short notice and to take time-off in the event of illness to a child or childminder. Submissions were received in connection with work on the strategy which stated that there may be a need for more flexible arrangements to contribute towards women remaining in the maritime industry.
Chapter 4 of the Ship Safety and Security Act relating to working environment and personal safety contains special rules for women who are pregnant or have recently given birth and are breastfeeding and working on board ships. This includes the right of pregnant women to take leave of absence and a duty to facilitate. The latter relates to changes in working conditions and working hours, as well as transfer to other work in the shipowner’s service, among other things.
Boks 4.7 The certification system for seafarers
The certification system for seafarers is based on the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). The STCW has been implemented in Norway through the Ship Safety and Security Act and the Qualifications Regulations.
The educational pathway for a deck officer or engineer officer is broadly structured into three parts: a theoretical part, mandatory courses, and a practical part. The theoretical part primarily takes place at colleges/universities and vocational schools. The practical part is referred to as the seagoing service (NO: fartstid) and must be accrued on board a ship. A certificate of competency can be applied for upon completion of the study programme.
A certificate of competence may be renewed for up to five more years if the holder can document that the requirements for maintenance of the certificate of competency have been met. The prerequisites for renewing a certificate of competency are seagoing service with a valid certificate of competency and repetition of mandatory courses. Seagoing service must be accrued on board a ship, however it is also possible to perform other work that is equivalent to seagoing service, for example, teaching the subjects required by STCW.
If the requirement for seagoing service is not met, it is still possible to renew the certificate of competency by completing an extended course and passing a certification test.
Adaptation of equipment
The physical organisation of the workplace can represent an obstacle to gender equality in the maritime industry. Clothing and equipment do not have gender-neutral functionality and are often adapted for men in male-dominated industries. Women may experience not having access to correct sizes of gloves, work clothes, safety shoes and other equipment. If women do not have access to the right equipment, this can impact their ability to safely perform certain work tasks. It is also an obstacle that some vessels do not have separate changing rooms and toilets for female employees, and that there is no access to necessary sanitary products. At an input meeting organised by the Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy it was pointed out that vessels that do not have the necessary facilities are still being built.
Adapted equipment and work clothes are necessary to ensure a safe workplace.
Source: Thought Leader Global Media
Research shows that adapting equipment to all body sizes can signal that the workplace and work tasks are suited for everyone. Adapting the clothing and uniform to the different needs of female personnel has been a recruitment strategy of the Royal Norwegian Navy in order to meet the needs and requests that women might have.19 Chapter 4 of the Ship Safety and Security Act regulates the working environment and personal safety and includes provisions relating to the adaptation of work on board. Regulation no. 8 of 1 January 2005 relating to the working environment, safety, and health of employees on board ships was laid down pursuant to this Act. Among other things, the Regulations stipulate requirements for personal protective equipment for people who work on board ships, however this does not include other work clothes. There is also a requirement for separate toilets/sanitary rooms in specific cases.