The Girls Who Found Themselves at Sea…(Part 2)

Last week, in part 1, Worldwide Recruitment Solutions (WRS) discussed the factors that may attract young men and women to a career working out at sea. The women WRS spoke to are all in their twenties and working on a variety of vessel types, all over the world.

They agreed that the benefits, for the most part, outweighed the negative aspects of pursuing a maritime career. Of course sexism can still play a part in any industry, but surely one that’s a heavily male dominated as the marine sector would be high up on the sexism scale…?

That sounds like a man’s work…

Well yes, traditionally working on ships has been a man’s domain, but there has been female involvement back from day 1, and attitudes are definitely changing towards women taking on technical roles. Maria has been working at sea for 10 years, and in that time she’s noticed a shift in attitude;

“10 years ago there was a very strong feeling that women should not be at sea… in that short time I’ve seen people coming around and realising that us ladies can do just as good a job – if not better.”

She puts this down in part to universities and colleges promoting more male-dominated roles to girls – which was how she first learnt about the Merchant Navy herself. Jessica says she has seen an increase in female cadets even within the last 2 or 3 years, and she sees the attitude adjustment to others in the industry as a natural progression from this; “the fact that we are becoming more present in the industry is very encouraging for me…

Don’t try to flutter your eyelashes to gain respect; respect is earned by being good at your job, not by being the majority on ship. “

Hazel feels it is still a male-dominated environment, and describes that it can be quite difficult for women to establish themselves, particularly in more senior roles. Some captains may have an old-fashioned attitude; others embrace the presence of more women on board – but again, the same holds true for many industries.

Sophie, a 28 year old 2nd Officer and Junior DPO who comes from Dorset, now feels she is treated exactly the same as her male counterparts – but that was not always the case. One thing that all of the women WRS  interviewed agreed on was the absence of positive discrimination – or preferential treatment – within the marine industry. The girls all agreed that once you’ve proved yourself if you put the work in, what matters is how able you are – the problem lies in proving yourself in the first place!

Fena has encountered her fair share of sexism in the workplace… she says women are becoming more and more common at sea, but thinks “there is still a stigma attached; men feel they can’t have as much fun in case the women are offended, or don’t know what they’re doing… there are a lot of people who think that women are not strong enough to complete the jobs at sea. This may be true at times, but I can guarantee that any woman worth her weight would give it a good go so it would be nice to see men giving women the same chances.” Fena even told us that she has been prevented from learning skills by one Captain who assumed she would be leaving soon to have children so he would be wasting his time training her!

Fena feels she has often been the focus of the officers on board, which has meant she hasn’t had room to make the mistakes which might go unnoticed if made by a male. She’s also found that the age difference between her and many of her colleagues (sometimes up to 20 years or more) has meant that she’s found it difficult to gain their respect when managing them – “I have had to grow up very fast to deal with it!”

So… any advice?

A career in the Merchant Navy is not something to be taken lightly; all of the girls WRS chatted to agreed that they probably would have benefited from having more information before they started studying. Jessica feels she’s been really well treated over at Subsea 7, and Hazel – who trained Jessica – is happy that she is now sailing with the company, preferring working on-board support vessels than cargo and container ships.

For Jessica, her best advice is: “be fully aware that you are entering a male-dominated environment… you cannot expect preferential treatment in any area of the industry,” and Marie backs this up, “you’ll have to be thick-skinned and strong minded. Be prepared to laugh off sexual innuendos, but stand your ground – sexual harassment is a completely different matter. Use your brains when brawn is needed, to prove that you have a place in this world – if you are a hard worker, you will gain respect.”

Hazel stresses the importance of keeping your professional life strictly professional, “there are a lot of boys; you have to be careful to work hard and don’t get lost.”

Fena advises women thinking about a career change to, “Be careful of your actions as you’ll be more likely to be remembered and carefully watched, never give anyone a reason to doubt your abilities, believe in yourself and your training, and most importantly – don’t slate other women. We get a hard time enough at sea without turning on each other. It’s not acceptable when men slate us so it shouldn’t be for us to do it to each other either!” When Fena’s having a hard time, she calls her mum, who tells her to, “dust myself off and go out bigger and stronger.”

And finally, Sophie’s advice is to think long and hard before you go into a career; “give long thought to how long you want to be at sea; this career isn’t particularly family-friendly. Do your research, go to open days and colleges and make sure you get a good training company – I didn’t do my research and wish I had now!”

We are all one crew, working towards the same goals and with the same drive to return home to our friends and families… discrimination and obstacles are faced by everyone; it’s the way you choose to handle the situation that determines the outcome. Jessica

Worldwide Recruitment Solutions, April 1, 2014