It is known that diversity within the maritime industry has started gaining momentum, as more and more companies tend to focus on modernizing their overall workplace.
In fact, now more than ever, the global maritime industry is advancing and innovating at a tremendous speed the issue of diversity and inclusion. Although someone may wonder what is diversity all about?
To begin with, diversity is a complex combination of people from different age-groups, cultural backgrounds, communities, gender or sexual orientation etc. Nowadays, business leaders are seeing that encouraging diversity in the workplace has several tangible benefits, for the company and for its employees as well.
People of different genders, ages, beliefs and cultures mix, giving broad perspectives and enriching understanding. Everybody benefits from that.
…said Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou, President of WISTA International and CEO of TOTOTHEO MARITIME.
With the dynamics rapidly changing and in order to add value to its business, shipping industry must adapt a new attitude and hire a wider range of people. Any companies overlooking key groups of talent in regard to gender, culture or ethnicity will fail to evolve and adapt to the new reality.
“We have to accept that diversity and inclusion go hand in hand. You cannot achieve diversity without first having an inclusive environment and culture. A key challenge is in attracting employees into the shipping industry and providing them with environments that meet the demands for diverse and inclusive workplaces”.
…as Heidi Heseltine, Co-Founder of the Diversity Study Group stated.
However, recruiting a diverse workforce free of discrimination, demands implementing diversity skills. Specifically, the term diversity skills is the ability to recognize, appreciate and live, without bias, in a society full of diversity at both workplace and daily life.
“We have to foster workplaces where innovative ideas and new strategic directions are considered, and that means moving away from established ‘groupthink’ and encouraging new voices and open-mindedness. Diversity is central to that. We have to engage.”… Ms Theodosiou added.
On his side, Guy Platten, the Secretary-General of the ICS said that the “industry needs to attract the very best talent and we must use all means to encourage a more diverse workforce.”
In light of the above, employers should focus on creating more welcoming workplaces that respect differences and give a voice to people who are often underrepresented. In an effort to implement company diversity, employers must take into consideration the following points:
- Prioritize communication
- Treat each employee individually
- Encourage employees to collaborate with diverse teams
- Develop equality and diversity training methods
- Raise team spirit and belonging
- Combat stereotypes and confront bias
- Adopt multicultural and multi-ethnic understanding
- Mitigate racialized microaggressions
- Understand your own bias and how it might influence your behavior in the workplace
- Provide opportunities to develop cultural awareness
Overall, speaking of diversity within maritime, IMO Secretary-General, Kitack Lim, commented that:
Shipping needs diversity in the workforce. Diversity is better; it’s better for teamwork, better for leadership – and better for commercial performance.
