Following the announcement of ISWAN’s campaign: ‘Safe at sea…it takes all of us!’ in the beginning of this month, the organization announced the release of practical guidance on addressing inappropriate behaviour and building strong support networks.
These guides offer actionable steps for seafarers, senior officers, maritime employers, and stakeholders to foster a culture of allyship, especially between male and female crew members, and include concrete suggestions on “what to say and how to say it” when challenging inappropriate behaviour and how to restore a sense of safety in tense or high-pressure situations.
The first guide is designed to support seafarers to be good allies to one another, whilst the companion guide for maritime stakeholders explores what employers, manning agents, management companies and other key stakeholders can do to foster a culture of allyship at sea.
As ISWAN’s new guides make clear, the benefits of allyship are many and unambiguous. They include:
- Healthy, safe and productive work environments. Having trust and good communication with and between crew encourages safety, a strong team and
meeting or exceeding performance goals. - A culture of allyship is a culture that is supportive. Freely giving praise, feedback and even constructive and respectful criticism where appropriate creates a strong team that can learn from each other and grow together.
- Diverse teams with different viewpoints are more effective teams. When you are trying to solve difficult problems, having multiple perspectives and people willing to share those perspectives – and possible solutions – can mean the difference between success and failure.
- Improved retention and recruitment. Hundreds of men and women leave the maritime sector every year due to the ABHDV behaviours of some colleagues and the lack of support from others. Many more never even join the sector or stick to shore-based jobs. ABHDV and other harmful behaviours prevent vessels from having the best crew possible and lead to the loss of good seafarers.
- Improved productivity. Studies have shown that the productivity of all members of a team improves in the absence of violence and harassment at work. Simply put, if someone is engaged in abuse, bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence (ABHDV) or other harmful behaviours they are not doing their own job and are hindering others from working as well.
ISWAN highlights thatone group for whom allyship can be particularly valuable is women seafarers who, especially on merchant vessels, regularly experience being the only woman on their vessel or team. The challenges facing women who embark on maritime careers have been widely documented: from higher incidences of abuse, bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence (ABHDV) to a lack of appropriate protective equipment or sanitary facilities, women face additional barriers to a safe and rewarding career in maritime.
Georgia Allen, ISWAN’s Projects and Relationship Manager, said:
Making a real commitment both to being a good ally to seafarers and to proactively fostering a culture of allyship is a concrete step that maritime stakeholders can take towards achieving the structural change that is needed for women seafarers to experience safe and rewarding careers. However, there is no doubting that seafaring is an extremely demanding vocation whatever your gender identity – so being good allies to one another is a very powerful way for all seafarers to benefit from a greater sense of safety, inclusion and belonging at sea.’
ISWAN GUIDE FOR MARITIME STAKEHOLDERS
