IMO WISTA Survey: Falling numbers for women in maritime

Female representation is still disproportionately low, and women represent a small fraction of the seagoing workforce, highlighting the urgent need for continued commitment and action. We must redouble our efforts to foster a truly diverse and inclusive maritime industry.

… said Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General, IMO. 

Regional distribution of female participation

Organisations across the Caribbean, Europe and the Pacific all reported the highest levels of women workers, accounting for more than 20% of the total workforce in both IMO Member States as well as in the private sector. The Pacific was the region with the highest ratio of women in the workforce in the public sector at just over 26% (totalling 1,375 women), while the Caribbean region led the way in the private sector at 63%—which in real terms was just 197 women. The majority of women in the private sector are located in Europe, with a total of 15,457 women reported in the surveyed private sector workforce of 71,470—amounting to just over 21% of the workforce.

In terms of total numbers, North American respondents reported the largest number of women workers overall, with 68,133 female employees recorded—the majority of whom can be found in the public sector (66,942 women). However, given the regional reported workforce of 372,366 individuals, women in North American workforces account for just over 18% of total workers.

Other regions of note include Latin America, where the figure (totalling 3,954 women) rests at above 18% across both the public and private sector, and also Asia, where women account for 16% of the workforce of private sector respondents (5,855 women) and 19% (17,321 women) reported to be working in surveyed Member State workforces. Individual countries and organisations across all regions will no doubt display variance.

Industry insights

By comparison to IMO Member States, there are fewer women found in maritime’s private sector—and in fact, fewer than recorded in the inaugural Survey. Female employees accounted for a little over 16% of the total surveyed maritime workforce of 172,691 individuals, with just 27,992 recorded. This is notably lower than the 29% reported in 2021, where women accounted for 107,023 out of a total of 367,858 employees.

As participation in the online Survey was voluntary, there was only a partial overlap with the previous set of respondents. Thus, although the picture painted by the 2024 survey is an accurate snapshot of the sector as it stands today, the comparison with the previous set of data is not completely like for like.

Sector-specific participation

According to the 2024 replies, the port operations & services sector accounts for the largest number of women in a subcategory at 4,499—and also had the highest number of responding organisations at 66. Other sectors with organisations contributing significant amounts of data include ship owners (60), ship and crew management (53) and maritime associations/organisations/NGOs (44).

An increase in female representation has been reported in sectors such as advertising, marketing, public relations, crewing agencies and ship agents. However, declines were observed in bunkering and legal services. New entrants such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) and decarbonisation services, financial institutions/banks and weather intelligence services, all reported a higher than average number of women workers.

Women in leadership

The presence of women on executive/company boards varies significantly from country to country. Malaysia is notable with 71% representation from 13 women on company boards, while Greece had the highest number at 56 women, but accounted for only 35% of total board members. Sectors with the highest female respondents in C-suite positions include maritime associations/organisations/NGOs, ship and crew management, and port operations.

Despite some progress, women remain underrepresented in mid-management positions, declining to 20%, from 39% in 2021. Drops were also noted in specialist and technical operational roles and support roles. However, sectors including crewing agencies and crew training, offshore and maritime education and training institutions have all seen significant gains in female leadership.

Gender policies and inclusion

The data highlights a level of consistency in the adoption and/or implementation of gender-inclusive policies amongst respondents. The number of companies/organisations that have specific quantitative measures for increasing diversity rose to 67 in 2024 from 59 in 2021. That said, some 157 organisations reported having no gender equality policy in recruitment and promotion, underscoring the need for further improvements.

Attracting, retaining and promoting women – both on land and at sea – remains a priority moving forward. However, the new data also shows how opportunities across the industry continue to be limited for women due to barriers such as gender stereotyping, workplace safety concerns, a lack of family friendly policies and the ongoing gender pay gap

… commented Elpi Petraki, President, WISTA International. 

Women seafarers

Women seafarers remain vastly underrepresented, comprising only 1% (2,223) of the 211,750 active seafarers reported in the 2024 survey data. The majority of women seafarers in the companies surveyed were from the Philippines, followed by Greece, Argentina, Canada, and India, Nigeria, Türkiye, and the United States. The highest proportion of female seafarers served on bulk carriers and oil tankers.

Conclusion

There is a clear need for sustained efforts to improve gender diversity in maritime. By addressing issues such as recruitment and career advancement, as well as leveraging the insights from this report, organisations can develop more effective strategies to foster gender diversity and create a more inclusive maritime industry. Collaborative efforts among stakeholders will be essential in driving meaningful change across the sector.