In the following article, Anglo Eastern Chief Officer Ruchi Suri explains that having an inclusive workplace benefits everyone. This piece is part of the Lloyd’s Register Foundation and Lloyd’s Register ‘Rewriting Women into Maritime History’ initiative — a collaboration with leading maritime organisations aimed at raising the profile of female maritime expertise, experience, and leadership, and at promoting gender equity, diversity, and inclusion.
I’ve been working for Anglo Eastern since 2010, and it’s great to see how the company has implemented numerous initiatives over the years to ensure women feel accepted and welcomed.
When I first started, I often felt the need to prove my competence to earn the trust of male colleagues. The maritime industry was not particularly diverse at the time, with few women working on commercial vessels, so it wasn’t always easy being the only woman onboard, but it shaped the person I am today.
Positive policies
Anglo-Eastern promotes and supports women seafarers and helps prepare them for life onboard through its Anglo-Eastern Women of Seas (AWOS) programme. This includes pre-joining briefings, vessel accommodation preparations, medicines, onboard grievance handling, and hotline access to the shoreside wellbeing team and professional counsellors.
It also includes a monthly AWOS Connect with women onboard initiative, which provides a platform for the reporting of unethical activities, alongside an internal committee formed to address women’s concerns and a women officer leadership team to act as mentors for female cadets and trainees.
The company has a zero-tolerance culture with clear policies on bullying and all forms of discrimination. There are strict anti-harassment practices in place with comprehensive gender sensitisation training for all officers and crew. These measures have been introduced to normalise conversations around women’s rights and safety on board. The shoreside wellbeing and onboard leadership teams regularly connect to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals, the challenges, if any, and the implementation of guidelines on psychological safety, and grievance handling. Some of the ships also have CCTV installed in common areas for added security.
As a part of AWOS Connect, women at sea and onshore can also keep in touch through a WhatsApp group to share information and experiences.
Improving gender diversity
These changes are making an impact. The target set by Anglo-Eastern was to increase the proportion of women seafarers by 1% in 2025. The actual number of women has nearly doubled—from 189 in 2022 to 370 by the end of 2024 (0.9% increase), which is encouraging progress.
Anglo Eastern’s Maritime Academy (AEMA) continues to actively support DEI initiatives with career fairs and education establishment visits to promote gender balance within shipping. This has helped grow the number of applications from female students from 348 in 2022 to 811 in 2024, with 95 new female graduates in 2024 alone.
In addition, the Career Care program, offered by Anglo-Eastern, creates opportunities for women seafarers to advance into leadership roles and explore internal mobility options.
Making the industry more viable for women
While there has been significant progress, the maritime industry as a whole needs to do more to attract female talent. This requires a shift in perception that maritime careers are exclusively for men.
It is crucial to highlight the diverse career paths the industry offers and the potential for rapid advancement for individuals who are driven and dedicated.
Furthermore, we must spotlight the maritime sector’s indispensable role in global trade and introduce scholarship programmes aimed at inspiring youngsters from economically disadvantaged backgrounds to view shipping as a viable and rewarding career option. By fostering inclusivity and accessibility, the industry can unlock untapped potential and thrive in a more diverse and equitable future.
Government initiatives by the Director General of Shipping in India and the Maritime Union of India (MUI) have helped promote the industry to the younger generation.
In my case, I was extremely honoured to be awarded a Second Mate Certificate of Competency at just 22, the youngest Indian lady officer to achieve this. This was presented to me by the Indian Government’s Director General of Shipping. By 2020, I took another step forward by passing the Chief Mate examination.
I’m currently a Chief Officer with Fednav, operating bulk carriers trading on the Great Lakes and worldwide. Fednav has fostered an inclusive workplace and is very supportive of women working on their vessels. My next goal is to win promotion to the rank of Master and command an Anglo Eastern vessel.
Role Model
My mother was my main role model, as from a young age I was aware she had a senior leadership role working for the Indian government, where she was in charge of a large team of men. She taught me that good leadership is all about knowledge, skills, competence and authority, which has nothing to do with gender.
I take being a positive role model and mentor to younger women coming through the ranks very seriously, as I know it can have an important impact on their career choices and direction.
I offer advice on how they can create a respectful onboard environment for themselves and maintain harmonious relationships with their colleagues.
Male colleagues can help too by being supportive of women by calling out any gender bias or discrimination if they notice it. They can also help to create a respectful environment where all people are treated as equals irrespective of their gender.
A Brighter Future
When I look back on my fifteen years at Anglo Eastern, I see that the industry has come a long way in being more inclusive for women. There is still more that can be done, but we are moving in the right direction. This trend needs to continue to ensure we move in an upward trajectory and don’t let complacency set in.
The views presented are only those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.
