Maersk Narrows Seafarer Gender Gap With "Equal at Sea" Recruitment Drive

Courtesy Maersk

Published Sep 29, 2024 4:17 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

Maersk has reported significant progress in bridging the longstanding gender gap of its workforce. Through its Equal at Sea initiative in India, Maersk’s Indian female cadets have increased from 41 in 2021 to over 350 this year. Overall, the percentage of women cadets in this year’s intake went up to 45% in the nautical and engineering streams, significantly improving the diversity within Maersk’s seafarers population in India. In addition, this milestone has brought the company closer to its 2027 target of equal gender representation amongst its cadet intake.

Maersk launched the Equal at Sea initiative in 2022, targeting the Indian market. The primary objective is to achieve gender equality among Maersk’s seafarers and address historical underrepresentation of women in the maritime industry. A 2022 study by IMO and the Women’s International Shipping& Trading Association (WISTA) noted that women account for only 29 percent of the overall workforce in the general maritime industry. The number for women seafarers is even smaller, with just two percent of around two million seafarers worldwide being women. An update to this data is expected next year when IMO and WISTA publish the results of the 2024 Women in Maritime survey.

“Through our initiatives, we have successfully inspired more women in India to choose seafaring as a career. Getting to 45 percent has been a great team effort within Maersk and across the industry. Now is the time to keep the momentum and ensure that the women recruited are also retained in the fleet,” said Karan Kochhar, Head of Marine People, Asia, Maersk.

The success of the Equal at Sea program in India comes with a significant impact for Maersk’s global progress in improving gender diversity. The number of women seafarers in the Maersk fleet has more than doubled, from 295 in 2021 to over 650 in 2024. This has seen the percentage of women in Maersk’s global seafarer pool rise from 2.3 percent in 2022 to 5.5 percent in 2024.