Op-Ed: Closing the gender equality gap in maritime
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Dr. Victoria Frank talks to Marine Log about gender equality in maritime.
By Dr. Victoria Frank, technical manager at AkzoNobel
In June, industries celebrated International Day of Women in Engineering. This awareness campaign brings to the surface all of the fantastic achievements made by women engineers and women in STEM-related roles. But it also importantly highlights the need for more work to be done in closing the equality gap, which is apparent in almost all sectors.
No more is that the case than in the maritime industry.
While there have been some improvements made on this issue in recent years, with more women joining the global workforce, change has been slow. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) introduced the International Day for Women in Maritime two years ago as a statement of intent and in the hope of encouraging more women to make a successful career in the maritime industry.
The IMO will also be launching its second “Women in Maritime” survey this September to give the basis for meaningful action, and pinpoint areas where a more equitable approach is needed than just “achieving gender equality.”
Key to making this sort of difference will be both keeping women that have entered the industry in recent years from leaving, and to support with clear career paths for progression. This must be a priority as there is a concerning disparity between women in entry level and trainee roles compared to positions of leadership or technical roles. And the picture is stagnant.
According to a survey by Spinnaker Global, women make up almost half (44%) of all incumbent junior roles, which drops to one in ten (10%) professional level positions, and just 3% of director roles. For technical roles, there are actually 2% less women in the workforce than in 2020.
Speaking to Marine Log about this issue and about how to accelerate gender equality in the maritime industry is Dr. Victoria Frank, Technical Manager in Research and Development at AkzoNobel.
AkzoNobel’s International brand is one of the most prominent brands in marine, yacht, and protective coatings. For the marine industry, the company produces high performing coating product and service solutions for vessels worldwide.
Marine coatings play a crucial role in providing protection from corrosion and prolonging the life cycle of vessels, in addition to reducing the carbon footprint and improving the performance of vessels.
Q&A with Dr. Frank on gender equality in maritime
Marine Log (ML): First, can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got involved with AkzoNobel and the maritime sector?
Dr. Victoria Frank (DF): I am a Technical Manager at AkzoNobel for our International® brand in the Marine sector. I have been at the company for almost two decades, joining immediately after achieving my PhD degree. Initially, I was looking for an interesting industry research role, but I didn’t know what my plan was after my studies. When I joined AkzoNobel, I still wasn’t 100% clear where I would go beyond this first job in industry.
I accepted a position at AkzoNobel in the company’s Technology Center, focusing on the development of new technologies across the maritime sector covering both marine and yacht. After two years I moved to a development role within R&D where the focus was the development of new products for the Marine sector. Since then, I have taken on different roles throughout the business and learnt a variety of skills in both project management and in leadership positions, and I haven’t looked back.
ML: What is the current state of gender equality in maritime as you have experienced it?
DF: My first experience of industry was the interview process at AkzoNobel in 2004. It was quite an intense, two-day experience. I and three other candidates had to present to a panel in front of one another, followed by 1-2-1 interviews the next day. While I quite enjoyed this process, as you got to understand the business in more depth from being so immersed in the company’s headquarters, I was the only woman involved throughout the process, other than the interviewer from HR. This wasn’t something I was particularly conscious of at the time. It felt normal being one of a small number of women present in a professional setting. This was my experience in my university research group, for example. With that said, I understand that this experience can be daunting for other women who take a chance in a new sector.
At least from my experience in R&D at AkzoNobel, this isn’t the case anymore. There is more balance and we have more women at different levels in leadership roles now within the business. AkzoNobel aims to have at least 30% female representation in senior roles by 2025 and the business strives to promote talent from within, with 27% of internal promotions to the executive levels being women. Gender representation has been placed at the core of our diversity efforts, and we now aim to build on this robust talent pipeline for women developing into senior leadership roles by encouraging other companies across the different industries to also be ambitious. Representation will continue to play an essential role in closing the gender gap and is one less barrier women need to overcome when looking to enter the marine industry.
Early in my career, around 18 or 19 years ago, when I first started to meet with vessel owners or visit shipyards, the male-dominated workforce was very apparent and still is. However, during recent customer meetings, I have found there to be much more of a balance, particularly with ship owners and management companies which I hope is a positive and encouraging trend. It would be great to see the industry continuing to develop in this direction, where we can see more women in leadership positions, and management and technical roles. In a 2021 study, almost half (48%) of the positions taken up by women are in administrative or support roles and 39% for mid-management roles. This drops to 28% in relation to technical roles.
We need to see more women in leadership and management roles across the industry because, as it stands, women largely make-up entry-level, non-technical, and human resource positions.
Despite this, I do believe the culture is changing. There is improved female representation across the sector, from what I’ve read and experienced, and companies are improving gender diversity and participation, which has been a positive step in the right direction. The industry as a whole will benefit from a reduction in preconceived notions about your gender, and in relation to skills and specific roles.
ML: What can companies do to promote gender equality and equity?
DF: There are a range of reforms I’d encourage companies to employ across the marine sector. If we are to continue to encourage more women into the workforce, you need more women involved in that process. I would say that this starts even earlier than that. Companies in the marine sector need to be more visible at schools, colleges, and universities than they currently are. I can’t recall ever seeing a company representing the marine industry at a trade fair when I was at university, but I do remember pharmaceutical companies there speaking to students and promoting the type of roles that would be available. Make it clear what roles are out there, and what a career in the marine industry would look like. In my own field, I would encourage companies to inspire more women into the sciences early on in their educational journey.
Driving a more diverse and inclusive culture within the workplace and promoting career development initiatives can help accelerate that change which will only benefit the industry. My fondest career memory was being given the opportunity to accept an award on behalf of a project team I was part of at a major conference in 2014, as a result of encouragement from my manager. Not only did this boost my confidence, but it also raised my profile within the company, receiving recognition for what was a huge team effort on the project. Those memories stick and have helped inspire my approaches and actions when managing my team.
ML: Where do you see women’s roles in maritime over the next 5-10 years? Do you see there being more women in the industry? Less?
DF: There are still many barriers facing women in the marine industry right now which need to be addressed so we can continue to attract and retain talent. An increasing number of men and women are looking for flexible working arrangements, in order to balance family life and their career aspirations. There have been several positive reforms at AkzoNobel, related to flexible working, maternity and paternity leave, it would be great if this could be uniform across all parts of the marine sector, and globally.
The gender pay gap will also need to be addressed. According to research from Spinnaker Global, the gender pay gap in the marine industry is wider than the UK average. The key priority will need to be encouraging more women into technical and senior roles. The recent leadership shown on this issue by the International Maritime Organisation has reassured me that we will see a much higher percentage of women in technical and science-based roles by 2030.
ML: Is there anything you’d like to add that I haven’t asked you?
DF: Here is my advice to young women contemplating a career in the marine industry:
- First of all, don’t wait. … Go for it!
- Find work experience in the industry first to better understand what you’re going into.
- Be brave—create your own opportunities and ask for more exposure. You’re never too young or old for this and I’m still asking for more exposure.
- Focus on your career path—don’t be fixed on what you see other people doing.
- Don’t underplay the benefits of face-to-face experiences like conferences and meetings with customers—while daunting, it will do wonders for your confidence.
- If you’ve made it into the industry, welcome! Be a mentor for other women and contribute positively to their journey.
Categories: Op-Eds
