1. Background and Introduction
For centuries, societies have developed with women being relegated to the submissive role. Instead of women being free to pursue their own goals, they were deemed to be property, not equal partners. In many cultures, women had the same capacity as children, with their husbands being permitted to beat them into submission. It was also not uncommon for husbands to beat their wives to death without any legal repercussions, the main function of women was to marry and bear children, with those who were unable to conceive being ostracized. Because of deep religious prejudices, cultural practices and strictly defined gender roles, women were prevented from pursuing careers. While many of these practices seem archaic and barbaric, the fact that gender equality by 2030 has been the 5th United Nations sustainable development goal shows how deeply entrenched gender inequality really is. In the 2022 UN Sustainable Development Goals Report, it was determined that it would not be possible to obtain the goal of gender equality by 2030. Despite global efforts, the status of women globally was as follows: (United Nations, 2022)
“1) Only 57 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 who are married or in a union make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care, according to data from 64 countries for the period 2007-2021.
2) Among 115 countries with data, countries had in place an average of 76 per cent of the laws and regulations needed to guarantee full and equal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
3) Violence against women and girls is found in all countries and affects women of all ages. Globally, 26 per cent of partnered women aged 15 and older (641 million) have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence by a husband or intimate partner at least once in their lifetime.
4) Older women, over 50 years old, may be vulnerable to specific forms of violence not usually measured in surveys on violence against women, such as economic exploitation, or being ostracized or neglected. Perpetrators of such violence, aside from intimate partners, can include adult children and other relatives, strangers, caregivers and neighbours.
5) In 2021, nearly one in five young women were married before the age of 18. The highest rates of child marriage are found in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, where 35 per cent and 28 per cent of young women, respectively, were married in childhood.
6) Working women, including those in managerial positions, have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have had their hours reduced or left the workforce altogether due to increased unpaid care work at home. In 2019, before the pandemic, women accounted for 39.4 per cent of total employment. In 2020, women represented nearly 45 per cent of global employment losses.
7) The share of women in managerial positions worldwide saw only slight improvement from 2015 to 2019, increasing from 27.2 to 28.3 per cent. That share remained unchanged from 2019 to 2020, which is the first year without an increase since 2013. The number of women in managerial positions in Sub-Saharan Africa was slightly higher than the global average at 29.8 percent in 2020.
8) Globally, young women are much more likely than young men to find themselves unemployed and without education or some form of training programme to fall back on. In 2020, the Neither education, employment nor training (NEET) rate was 31.5 per cent for young women, compared to 15.7 per cent for young men.”
The above facts are indicative of the situation facing women globally and show the entrenched cultural biases against women, together with the factors that impact on their ability to enter the workforce on an equal footing with their male counterparts. These figures and facts also provide a backdrop against which the issue of female advancement in the maritime sector can be discussed. While international law and policy provides the foundation for domestic policy shifts, the rate at which international law and policy is adopted depends on the way domestic law aligns with international law and the accession of the individual governments to the different international protocols, policies and agreements. The speed at which change occurs depends on the speed at which culture changes and embraces new mindsets about the ability of women to bring positive change to the working environment and achieve the same results as men within the same role or portfolio. Section 9 (1) and (2) of Chapter 2 of the South African Constitution state that all South African citizens are equal before the law. Article 9 (1) states that everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and the benefits of the law. Article 9 (2) states that equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms. The rights to freedom of trade, occupation and profession are enshrined in Article 22 of Chapter 2 of the Constitution.
In terms of this provision every citizen has the right to choose their profession, trade and occupation freely. The practice of the profession, trade or occupation may be regulated by the law. From these two rights, it can be determined that discriminatory employment or training practices that prefer male employees over female employees are against the Constitution and hence, illegal. Given this enabling legislation, it would also be expected that South African women are thriving and protected in every sphere of society. Unfortunately, this is not so. According to the Statistics SA 2021 Report on Crimes against women, in 2021 South Africa ranked fourth on the global gender -based violence index, with one in every five (21%) of all South African women having experienced physical violence by a partner. Gender based violence was deemed to be the result of normative role expectations and unequal power relationships between genders in society.
Statistics SA 2021 figures also showed that 55 percent of the uneducated South African population are women. According to the Borgen project on the education of girls in South Africa, while the enrolment figures for girls and boys for primary school were roughly the same, the impacts of poverty on black households prevented female black students from receiving the same quality education as their white counterparts. The patriarchal nature of South African society works against the training of young girls, as women occupy a lower social status than men and are socialized to work at home and become mothers. This de -emphasizes the importance of them receiving education. Another major factor that affects girls from receiving the education they need is the HIV pandemic in South Africa. Not only are girls and women four-times more likely to be HIV positive than boys but they are more likely to be forced to drop out of school to take care of ailing family members. Crime in the townships and violence at schools together with sexual harassment of girls by their fellow students and teachers also contributes towards the drop-out rate by female learners. (Tuner, 2018) These facts show that from school level, the scales are weighted against South African women entering the workforce in the capacity and power that they should, to be able to enjoy the rights delegated by the Bill of Rights. While legislation implies equal treatment, inequality and discrimination against women is still deeply entrenched within the South African culture and value systems. While questions are raised about the inclusion of women at all levels of management and even the acceptance of women in all sectors, a more meaningful question would be whether South African society is willing to allow women to pursue meaningful career opportunities and dedicate themselves towards the goal of carving their own niche within the realms of government and business or whether the concept of women working is still seen as an indulgence., to be tolerated but never truly encouraged. The answer to this question is critical to our understanding of their ability to occupy positions of power in any sector of society, let alone the maritime sector. It will also assist in our understanding of whether the wins of women can be attributed to indulgently permitting a few whilst denying the masses, as opposed to being indicative of meaningful gains and changes in the system.
Globally, the gender imbalance in the workforce is unquestionable, and the maritime industry is no different. The transport sector is known globally to be male dominated with the maritime industry conforming to this trend (Bhirugnath-Bhookhun & Kitada, 2017) . It was not long ago when professional occupations in the maritime space were assumed to be occupied by men with job titles such as “helmsmen”, “seamen” and “fishermen”. For many, understanding of the maritime sector is limited to the shipping sector and shipping related jobs, specifically seafaring. The maritime industry, specifically the shipping sector, has been and is still dominated by males. Until the 1900s, women were actively prevented from engaging in seafaring jobs and activities. In some cultures, the presence of a women on board a ship was considered a bad omen. (Institute for Security Studies, 2020) Women have historically been prevented from occupying positions or performing roles that were perceived as traditionally male in both the formal and informal maritime subsectors due to cultural beliefs and gender stereotypes. This has created an environment in which discrimination against women is deemed acceptable and deeply entrenched. A result of the historical and cultural barriers in the maritime sector has been that many women do not consider the maritime environment to be an attractive field of employment (Institute for Security Studies, 2020) .
The International Labour Organisation review of the shipping sector uncovered several gender-related discriminatory problems within the industry. These included cases where female applicants with the relevant credentials were rejected, with preference given to male applicants. Some companies require mandatory pregnancy tests for female job applicants. These are some of the additional barriers facing women who attempt to start a career in seafaring. (UNCTAD, 2019) Pike et al. (2021) stated that the global percentage of women in the maritime sector was around 2%. This figure relates to the percentage of female seafarers, and not the overall maritime sector. The bias against women in this sector can also be attributed to the increased risk profile of women in these positions, especially where waters have increased piracy risk. Ahmad (2020) identified a high number of women employed in management positions in the port sector. They are, however, populated in the accounting and legal sub-sectors of the maritime sector. While women are part of the maritime sector, they have less authority. As a result, women face greater obstacles in every aspect of their work. The low representation of women in the maritime space raises concern as scholars and organisations are now shedding light on the importance of including women in all employment sectors (International Maritime Organization, 2018) .
2. Research Problem
The World Development Bank Report (The World Development Bank, 2019) , using household and labour force survey data from the World Bank’s International Income Distribution Data Set, showed that men outnumber women across all broadly defined occupations. This is to be expected, given that the introduction of women into the workforce is a recent phenomenon. Despite their late introduction into the workforce, the Institute for Security Studies 2020 Report on Women in the African Maritime space revealed that the participation of women in the maritime sector is particularly low, with maritime remaining a male-dominated sector. This is problematic, as it indicates that there are barriers preventing women from accessing the sector. These barriers were shown to include discrimination, legal barriers and harassment at their workplaces which resulted in their marginalisation or exclusion. Gender inequality was attributed to the numerous assumptions made about the traditional, cultural and historical roles, responsibilities and identities of men and women which have infiltrated the maritime sector. These above factors do not bode well for the inclusion of women in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) maritime sector.
3. Research Objectives
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the role of women in the maritime space, and identify the subsectors with the least women employees and employers. To achieve the abovementioned research aim, the following objectives form the basis of this study:
Identify sectors in the industry and developments in the industry that allow for the future inclusion of women in the sector.
To identify the specific mindsets and ideas that perpetuate cycles of gender discrimination.
To investigate and analyse existing policies and programs in the maritime space that eliminate gender discriminatory practices.
4. Research Questions
What would be required to increase the representation of women in management, decision-making as well as operational decisions in the maritime space?
What policies and programs must be adopted to assist with the inclusion of women in the maritime sector?
Which sub-sectors within the maritime space have more women and what impact has that had in the development of the maritime space?
5. Research Methodology
To complete this study, a mixed methodology was adopted, with both primary and secondary data being sourced. Secondary data was sourced through legislation, international reports, books and peer reviewed articles as well as the input of the relevant maritime organisations. Primary data was sourced through a survey of women in the maritime sector and primary legislation where necessary. While the initial goal was to use international surveys to validate and measure the responses of domestic participants, the lack of domestic responses meant that the data from international surveys was used instead. The primary quantitative data was obtained from reputable surveys by international maritime organisations on the status of women in the maritime sector. Limitations placed on access to information and access to internal company employees by legislation meant that researchers had to work with the communication officers of the different organisations and obtain permission from their legal departments to interview their employees. Because companies were prevented from distributing personal information about their employees, no direct interviews could be conducted. The survey questionnaire was therefore distributed through the communications officers or human resources departments of the targeted companies or organisations. The process of obtaining permission was often tedious and laborious and yielded very little fruit, as many of the organisations approached did not agree to participate. Part of this reluctance could be attributed to the mistrust of private sector business in the government sector. Some felt that the survey was an indirect government survey of their policies. Where companies did participate, company representatives were reluctant to share the methods used to obtain information from their employees. There is therefore no record of these methods and no way to verify the processes used, sample sizes or the survey success rate. To ensure that the survey results were representative, maritime-related firms across the ports and shipping sector were approached, Unfortunately, the governance structure of most ports - related activities falls under the umbrella of one governing structure. Without their participation, a major portion of the maritime sector was unrepresented. Interviews were held with a few female managers to obtain their inputs, regarding the departments which they managed. Of the survey participants, only 16 participants within the shipping sector responded. Because of the small sample size, inputs are not representative, and the survey results obtained could only be used to provide insights.
6. Literature Review
With the lack of representation from domestic firms, most of the data used for this study was obtained from secondary sources. This section contains the gains made globally in promoting the participation of women in the maritime sector through training initiatives as well as legislation encouraging the participation of women in the maritime sector. The results of the IMO – WISTA 2021 survey as well as McKinsey and UN surveys on the status of women in the maritime sector have been provided. The main questions answered in this section relate to the following:
- Positions women occupy in the maritime sector.
- Policies and programs in place that eliminate gender discriminatory practices.
- Sectors that include more women within the maritime sector.
- Industry distinctions between male and female leadership and its impact on female career choices.
6.1. Introduction
The International Labour Organisation has divided the maritime sector into four main subsectors. These are shipping, inland waterways, fishing and ports. (ILO, 2023) The dynamics relating to shipping apply to inland waterways as well, except that inland waterway flow through inland rivers and lakes. Ports are thus situated inland, as opposed to seaside ports (Dasgupta, 2022) . Examples of European rivers used as inland waterways include the Rhine, Elbe, Loire, Volga and Danube. Numerous cities situated along these rivers benefit from international trade. The importance of these water routes is that they enable landlocked countries to benefit directly from international trade and to participate actively in the global shipping industry, even though the ships used will be much smaller and adapted to the lower water depths of these inland waterways. Another added element is that portside activities are extended inland, thus bringing the benefits of portside industry to inland port cities. Within the South African context, there are no inland waterways, so they will not be discussed. While shipping, fisheries and ports form the core of the maritime sector, other ancillary subsectors have also been included. These include maritime oil and gas exploration, mariculture or aquaculture development as in the Operation Phakisa: Ocean Economy development strategy of 2014, small harbour development and coastal marine tourism (although direct maritime tourism establishment would be through the cruise industry sector). Depending on the individual countries maritime development strategy, all these sectors could be included, or some excluded, depending on the availability of maritime resources. The South African maritime development strategy was adopted prior to South Africa’s undertakings to reduce usage of fossil fuels for energy purposes. As the development of the oil and gas exploration sector is still in its infancy, the decisions made regarding climate change mitigation may affect the development of the sector. Landlocked countries without inland water resources, would not have a functioning maritime sector or capacity, given their distance from the ocean. They are therefore reliant upon neighbouring states for the movement of cargo to ports. The primary goal of the maritime shipping sector is the movement of cargo globally. The size of the maritime sector within each country would therefore be directly linked to this goal. Depending on the progress made by the individual countries and the development of their ports, opportunities would therefore differ from country to country. This will be seen as the shipping sector and ports are discussed below. Within the South African context, opportunities for women in the maritime sector are discussed within the core maritime subsectors of shipping, fisheries and ports as the 2014 Operation Phakisa development subsectors are still in their infancy.
6.1.1. The Shipping and Ports Subsector
Jobs within the shipping sector can be both onshore and offshore. The most well -known offshore job is seafaring, in which there are many positions. From deck hands to marine engineers, galley crew and ships captains, each position serves a purpose. Other offshore jobs include bosuns, cargo engineers, oil drillers, gas engineers, ordinary seamen, roughneck, pumpman, jobs on yachts, motormen, tool pusher, wiper, maritime security jobs, hydrographic surveyor, tugboat jobs, ocean engineering, marine biology, marine mammal training, researching, scuba diving instructor, barge engineer, underwater photographer, electro -technical officer, underwater exploration , navy nurse, ship superintendent, marine archaeology, radio officer, ship chandler, sub-sea engineer, stewards and ship captain, amongst others. While most of these positions relate to shipping, others are found in the oil exploration and coastal marine tourism sectors (Maritime Manual, 2022) . On - shore jobs include naval architect, ship fitter, shipping freight broker, cruise ship designer, shipwright, shipyard jobs, maritime consultants, shipping broker, shipbuilding engineer, marine environmental management, aquaculture, ship banker,, maritime reporter, maritime lawyer, port managers, stevedores, port terminal operators, marine pilots, vessel traffic service operators, maritime insurer, shipper, shipping agent, freight forwarder, logistics, boat mechanic and maritime underwriter (Maritime Manual, 2022) . From the above descriptions, most of the jobs available are either engineering, science or technical positions. Depending on the level of automation of ports, many of the jobs available could still require some measure of physical strength. With increased automation, the dependence on physical strength diminished, making it more viable for women to thrive.
The structures and developments of modern seafaring have brought dignity to the role. Prior to the modernisation of the global fleet, seafaring was not a glamourous profession. An example is the British merchant fleet during the 1800s who used cheap labour from Africa, Asia and West India (BBC, 2023) . The plight of sailors was an extremely difficult one, with sailors living challenging lives. Not only did they face the perils of the sea, threats of piracy and political instability, but conditions on board were worse, with seafarers having to endure cramped rat -infested diseased living quarters, bad food and scurvy and extreme discipline. Because of the lack of seafarer’s rights, flogging was common, and the discipline of sailors suspected of mutiny could extend to death. In addition to the above, death at sea was not uncommon, neither was extended time at sea. Given the above, sailing was both risky and life threatening. Not only was this an extremely difficult situation for sailors, but it was a job that tested men, let alone women. (Museum Greenwich, 2023) While the status of seafarers has changed in modern times, the sector is still governed by traditional stereotypes. Regardless of the agenda, reason or source, gender stereotypes are generalisations about the characteristics and roles of the male and female gender that have been made to typecast gender roles. (Brewer, 2020)
From the Table 1 below, society places many more restrictions on women than it does on men. It is also clear that the gender stereotypes are not representative but limiting factors, placing barriers to the growth and freedom of both male and female choices, although men enjoy more freedom and power. Being placed in a submissive role, these stereotypes serve as controlling factors, rather than enabling factors for women. Their perpetuation in the job market has the effect of limiting job choices for women. Even worse, however, is the fact that gender stereotypes have had the effect of robbing young women of proper education, thus severely limiting their options.
While the below statistics Table 2 do not have direct reference to the maritime sector and subsectors, from the maritime job categories mentioned, the core maritime job category descriptions are still male dominated roles.
In the UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport, 2018, the role of women in the maritime sector was discussed in depth. According to UNCTAD, more women are entering the shipping industry in all roles, including seafaring and operations, chartering, insurance and law. Women are also increasingly enrolling in maritime-related studies. This could be due to efforts to advance the role of women in the maritime industry by the various governing bodies. These include IMO initiatives in global capacity-building and International Labour Organization and International Transport Workers’ Federation initiatives in standard-setting. There are still many challenges, however. Referring to the Maritime HR Association survey data from 2017, it was noted that women who work in the shipping industry are paid on average 45 per cent less than men and fill only 7 per cent of management positions.
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Table 1. Stereotypes of men and women that affect their choice of occupation.
Source: HealthGuidance.Org; List of Gender Stereotypes | HealthGuidance.org.
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Table 2. ILOSTAT Survey 2021 Occupation by gender. (Results from 122 countries, excluding China and India) The results below show the gender spread across occupations and provide a snapshot of the way gender stereotypes have affected career choices.
Source: ILOSTAT; These occupations are dominated by women - ILOSTAT.
Two main factors help explain the low level of participation of women in the transport sector. These are working conditions and gender stereotyping in the context of seafaring roles. Examples of working conditions include: (UNCTAD, 2018) (Table 3)
1) A lack of amenities on ships
2) Alternatives for accommodating interruptions that may occur due to childbearing and other responsibilities of care, such as through the provision of flexible working hours, maternity benefits and childcare facilities.
3) Exposure to harassment and violence, a recurrent concern expressed in the seafaring sector. Such elements lead to a lack of interest in pursuing a career in the maritime sector or to early departures from maritime industry careers. A study on the career awareness of cadets in South Africa showed that the expected span of careers at sea among women was 10 years and that many contemplated leaving their positions during their early 30s.
Gender stereotyping is the second cause for gender inequality in seafaring operations, as well as in other segments of the maritime industry, such as insurance
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Table 3. Impacts of the lack of gender equality in the maritime sector (Source: UNCTAD Maritime Transport Review, 2018).
and law. This results in workplaces that are unwelcoming or openly hostile towards women. Gender stereotyping also encompasses the following:
1) Inappropriate sexual comments, persistent sexual invitations, unwanted physical contact and bullying.
2) Discriminatory practices, particularly in lower ranks and in the younger age demographic.
3) Regarding onshore managerial roles, a study on women’s maritime careers in Eastern and Southern Africa showed that gender stereotyping was closely related to the work intensive pattern of the professional progression of women, aimed at achieving success in the “man-made” system of the maritime industry, because women perceived that they had to devote extra time and energy compared with male peers to achieve similar results.
a) The distrust of employers about their competence and ability to perform as maritime professionals and
b) A lack of recognition of their contributions
Working conditions and gender stereotyping are closely linked. To fit into male-dominated environments in the seafaring profession, women may suppress perceived feminine attributes and emphasize masculine attributes linked to dress and socialization with peers. Efforts to integrate women into the seafaring profession and undo gender differences have been both ambivalent and contradictory. They may also rebound, reinforcing the very gender biases they seek to dispel. Some shipping companies, which are reluctant to recruit female cadets, require prior seafaring experience to access managerial roles. This results in an unequal playing field. Several international and regional voluntary frameworks and programmes have been put in place to meet different aspects of these challenges. These include: (UNCTAD, 2018)
1) The 1989 IMO launch of the Women in Development Programme meant to enhance the capabilities of women in the sector. The programme is now called the Programme on the Integration of Women in the Maritime Sector, and its main objective is to facilitate access to high-level technical training for women maritime officials.
2) The International Transport Workers’ Federation has drafted a code of conduct on eliminating shipboard harassment and bullying.
3) Regarding factors affecting professional progression in onshore roles, frameworks have been prepared by the IMO, regional organizations and women’s associations. Their implementation differs greatly at the national level with Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles and South Africa developing practices aimed at empowering women in managerial positions and retaining women employees, including using flexible working hours.
Solutions to the issue of gender inequality are likely to require coordinated efforts by all stakeholders, including shipping companies, crewing agencies, freight companies, trade unions and seafarers’ welfare organizations. Measures advocated by the UNCTAD Maritime Review (2018) encompass actions at three levels.
1) The Educational level: Increase awareness of gender equity in maritime academic, operational and business spheres. Increased awareness can promote a more systematic gender-sensitive approach in the profession. Methods of achieving this goal could include:
a) Adding related topics to the curricula of maritime educational institutions.
b) Ensuring staff induction and consistent sensitization training at the management, human resources, ship manager and ship master levels. Such training should emphasize issues such as improving on-boarding conditions and policies to report and address sexual harassment and discrimination.
c) Ensure that training institution curricula allow graduates to work both onshore and offshore these curricula should allow for career paths that are versatile, flexible and facilitate the retention of trained, experienced individuals who cannot be positioned on board vessels.
2) The Organizational level:
a) Provide adequate maternity benefits and flexibility schemes. This would facilitate the shift from offshore to onshore positions while enabling women to secure managerial positions.
b) Developing gender-neutral working practices, especially those focused on hiring and promotion, would help increase the participation of women in the industry at all levels.
3) Institutional and national levels:
a) Promote the adoption of internationally agreed codes of conduct and standards. Such codes include the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, and the International Transport Workers’ Federation code of conduct on eliminating shipboard harassment and bullying.
b) Social partners must be involved in the monitoring of policy enforcement. The creation and adoption of business policies on harassment and bullying, as well as on reporting measures to eliminate such actions, must also be encouraged.
c) Strengthen and consolidate regional networks this would help support the spread of best practices as a means of increasing better gender related practices in the maritime industry.
d) Enhance partnerships between individual institutions and industry association organizations such organizations include the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association.
e) Enhanced partnerships should provide long-term coaching, networking and fellowship opportunities and could contribute to retention, creating further opportunities to advance careers, cooperate, share best practices and work across borders.
f) Inspire and empower new generations by identifying female role models in the sector. This could include organising workshops to exchange experiences and the creating mentoring programmes.
With increased automation and technology on ships, the nature of both off-shore work and the diversity of on-shore work increasingly allows for less physically arduous tasks and more technical tasks. This provides more scope for women to work both on and offshore, so long as they obtain the relevant technical qualifications. (UNCTAD, 2022) Given that technical roles have been occupied mostly by males, the inclusion of women will depend on the speed of their inclusion into the science and technology fields and acceptance into relevant roles.
6.1.2. The Fishing Sector
The fishing sector is comprised of the commercial and small-scale fishing sectors, with the profile of women in the fishing sector depending on the stage of development of the relevant country. Statistics differ regarding the number of women in the sector, with figures between 45 and 55 percent being provided. Research done by the Alaska Fisheries science Centre found that data on women in the fisheries sector is normally based on qualitative studies rather than quantitative studies, with researchers focusing on the small-scale fishing sector in developing countries due to the lack of quantitative data. They studied the participation of women in the commercial fishing sector and found that the profile of women in the sector was very similar in all the countries surveyed. (NOAA Fisheries, 2020)
Researchers found the following factors applied to women in the commercial sector: (NOAA Fisheries, 2020)
“Women’s direct engagement in fisheries tends to be intermittent as they enter and leave the sector in response to changes in fishery and family needs. Where policies allocate fishing privileges based on consistent experience women can be disadvantaged and marginalized.
Gendered divisions of labor such as women’s overwhelming caregiving responsibilities may mean they harvest in different areas and use different gear types than men. Area closures and gear restrictions may then have a significant gender bias.
Women’s roles in supporting fisheries are often considered extensions of domestic work and are devalued compared to direct harvest participation. Women get bait and fuel, do paperwork and accounting, and process, market, and sell catch - functions that are largely untracked and thereby outside of conventional discourse on fisheries. While essential to fishing operations, these ‘invisible’ roles can lead to women being overlooked in policy considerations in social services such as unemployment benefits which focus on the harvesters.”
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO 2016) had similar results, although its reporting was on the status of women in the small-scale fisheries sector in developing countries, particularly Asia and Africa. Research on the sector found that men and women engage in distinct and often complementary activities that are strongly influenced by the social, cultural and economic contexts they live in. Male-female relations vary greatly and depend on economic status, power relations, and access to productive resources and services. In Sub -Saharan Africa, where the economic status of women was low, they found sex for fish practices, as men were most likely to harvest the fish which the women would require for marketing. In most regions, fish catching is dominated by males. Ocean-going boats for offshore and deep-sea fishing have male crews. In coastal small-scale fishing communities with resources, women often manage smaller boats and canoes. Obtaining these resources was often more difficult for women, who have limited access to financial resources. Women are mostly responsible for onshore tasks, like the making and mending of nets, processing and marketing catches, and providing services to the boats. In western Africa and Asia, almost 60 percent of seafood is marketed by women. In many parts of the world, they also do a significant number of shellfish gathering/clam gleaning. This is a fishery activity that is often under-recognized, or not recognized at all. Because these roles are behind the scenes, they contribute to the invisible presence of women in the sector and their resultant exploitation within the sector. (FAO, 2016)
6.2. Policies and Programmes for the Protection and Promotion of Women’s Rights
Protection of women’s rights has been advocated internationally from the mid 1900’s. Since the mid-1900s, there have been many international Charters, Action Plans and Conventions adopted to improve the plight of women globally. The United Charter 1945, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, World Population Plan of Action (WPPA) adopted at the 1974 World Population Conference on Population (Bucharest), International Conference on Women 1975, 1980, 1985, International Women Year 1975, the Decade for Women, Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (United Nations, 1995) were all introduced to highlight the plight of women and address the issue of gender inequality.
While policies advocating for women, gender equality and women empowerment have been developed and implemented, they have not been as effective as anticipated. Women are still faced with the challenge of unequal access to employment and education, high levels of violence against women and underrepresentation in decision making roles (Hannan, 2008) . To address these on-going issues, the United Nation (UN) proposed a framework of four critical elements for the empowerment of women:
1) Developing capabilities must be established at an early age and carried throughout the cycle.
2) Resources and opportunities must be easily accessible to women,
3) Opportunities for leadership and decision-making roles must be made available to women,
4) Women must be always safe and secure.
In keeping with the growing realisation that women need to be empowered through education, in 1998, the International Maritime Organisation initiated a female empowerment programme at a time where only a few maritime institutions were welcoming female students. This programme, which also included a capacity building programme, was implemented as an institutional framework to incorporate a gender dimension into the IMO’s policies and procedures (International Maritime Organisation, 2022) . Introducing such a programme highlighted the importance of having women on-board in the various maritime sectors.
This programme by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) opened doors to other initiatives, and the maritime industry saw the birth of the first conference on women empowerment in the maritime world, titled “Empowerment of women: the global perspective” in Malmo in 2008. This conference highlighted the need for women empowerment across the different maritime sectors.
Several initiatives and programmes have been introduced in the maritime sector, which sought the empowerment of women in maritime communities. In 1974, the maritime industry birthed a global organisation, Women’s Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) connecting female executives and decision-workers around the world. The association has grown and expanded to establishment in 54 countries (WISTA International, 2022) . Through these associations that created awareness of the importance of women in the industry, the South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI) established the Sindiswa Nhlumayo merit bursary in 2018, creating an opportunity for young females to pursue careers in the maritime industry (South African International Maritime Institute, 2022) .
While all these associations, programmes and initiatives/opportunities have been created, the participation of women in the maritime sector is still relatively low. According to a report by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), while there have been notable changes in the maritime industry for women in the past decade, the underrepresentation of women in the industry has not changed greatly (Kumalo & Reva, 2020) .
At a continental level, the aspiration regarding women employment is broader and indirect. The Africa Union, Agenda 63, the Africa we want, includes general aspirations for women empowerment. Aspiration 6 provides for: “An Africa whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential of African people, especially its women and youth, and caring for children.” With regards to women empowerment (African Union Commission, 2015) .
1) Provision 50 provides that by 2063 the African woman will be fully empowered in all spheres, with equal social, political and economic rights, including the rights to own and inherit property, sign contracts, register and manage businesses. Rural women will have access to productive assets: land, credit, inputs and financial services; and
2) Provision 52 provides that Africa of 2063 will have full gender parity, with women occupying at least 50% of elected public offices at all levels and half of managerial positions in the public and the private sectors. The economic and political glass ceiling that restricted women’s progress will have been shattered.
Despite these aspirations, the document does not have an implementation plan, or any strategy attached to assist with its implementation. The 2050 Africa Integrated Maritime Strategy of 2012, which speaks to the development of the African Maritime sector capacity, does not incorporate any women empowerment strategies. These are found at the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) level, of which South Africa is a Member State. In the 2016 Declaration on Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment Member states recognised that:
Women’s economic empowerment is a foundational element of gender equality and the full and equal realisation of women’s human rights.
Women’s full and equal participation and leadership in the economy are vital for realising gender equality and empowerment of women that will make a crucial contribution to progress across all goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda.
Higher female earnings also lead to greater investment in children’s health and education, which likewise contribute to longer term economic growth.
Many women in IORA Member States are engaged in the informal economy, without adequate job or income security and inadequate social protection.
Women make a significant contribution to peace and security, which are key ingredients for advancing economic prosperity.
To extend women’s voice, participation in leadership and decision-making is important in the quest for gender equality and women’s economic empowerment and sustainable economic growth.
To further this goal, the Member States of IORA agreed to make the following efforts towards their shared goal to promote gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in the Indian Ocean region in the following ways:
1) Prioritise efforts to promote equal opportunity in employment and non-discrimination in formal and informal economic sectors through laws, policies and practices.
2) Prioritise efforts towards the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.
3) Promote an enabling environment in which women and girls can reach their full economic potential through increasing social awareness and providing economic opportunities.
4) Review and address the barriers which limit women’s economic participation, such as access to financial resources and markets, leadership and participation in decision-making, skills and capacity building, and innovation and technology.
5) Invest in education for women and girls, including technical training and skills development.
6) Support and expand opportunities for women business leaders, women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses in supply chains.
7) Encourage businesses working in IORA Member States to adopt relevant internationally recognised gender equality standards into their business policies and practices
With regards the empowerment of women in the maritime sector, IORA Member states adopted the 2018 Baklava Declaration on women’s economic empowerment and gender equality as a prerequisite for sustainable development.
In the Declaration, Manber states noted that the sustainable use of marine resources is a major contributor to regional transformation and growth and provides important opportunities for women to fully participate in and contribute to their own development and success. Women should be encouraged to reach their full potential in a variety of occupations and inclusion throughout Blue Economy value chains, such as in shipping and maritime transport, offshore mining and coastal tourism through better access to education, training, technology and finance.
They also noted the fact that despite significant progress made regarding women’s economic advancement, multiple barriers and inequity still prevail, in terms of labour market participation and distribution of economic resources. These include job segregation; gender-based violence; unequal access to and control over resources i.e., land, finance, education, health sciences technology; inadequate representation of women in decision-making; and inadequate social safety nets and protection for those engaged in formal and informal economy.
To achieve the goal of gender equality Member states agreed to adopt the following measures:
1) Emphasize the importance of mainstreaming gender perspectives when devising and implementing IORA programmes and policies, as well as during analysis, monitoring and evaluation processes undertaken by Member States and the Secretariat, including projects funded by the Special Fund.
2) Collect, analyse and share gender-disaggregated data on the status of women in IORA countries, specific to IORA priority areas whilst adopting specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound targets and processes to address the prevailing gender gaps.
3) Adopt concrete measures and innovative policies that aim to promote women’s and girls’ participation and skills development in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, including Information and Communication Technologies in the light of the looming fourth industrial revolution by creating an enabling environment as well as providing incentives to women and girl innovators; including the setting up of appropriate and relevant mentorship programmes and initiatives for young girls to enable them to harness their full potential;
4) Promote an enhanced representation of women in leadership and in the workforce at the top and middle managerial levels by intensifying human capital development; capacity and capability development programmes that would seek to empower women on a level playing field; whilst addressing the structural barriers that contribute to the importance of economic empowerment.
5) Consolidate investments in programmes for women engaged in micro, small, medium enterprises, and self-help programmes and cooperatives in terms of their ongoing and sustained capability and skills development; ease of doing business incentives; favourable tax incentives and schemes; development of “niche” markets within the IORA community, including the use and expansion of the value chains concept; as well as the adoption of innovative e-commerce and e-learning tools and methodologies.
6) Encourage the IORA Women’s Business Forum to empower and strengthen women to champion an inclusive business agenda and network for women entrepreneurs. It will function as a platform for knowledge exchange, skills development, mentoring, showcasing best practices, facilitating new businesses and investment opportunities.
7) Support the implementation of the IORA Memorandum of Understanding for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which provides a framework for capacity building, particularly to develop and support women-owned and -led SMEs which are crucial economic units driving employment creation and poverty alleviation and which require improved access to capital, markets and technology.
8) Develop sound, macro and gender-sensitive, planning and budgeting strategies, and strengthen measures that lead to an increased diversification in the employment sector, with particular attention to those sectors that are traditionally male dominated, with adequate budgetary resources.
9) Build greater synergies between the public and private sectors to advocate and network, including the prioritization of sound and non-discriminatory practices and regulation to expand opportunities for women in businesses and enterprises, including the formal sector.
10) Affirm the Working Group for Women’s Economic Empowerment as the vehicle to contribute to gender equity and equality in the IORA region, including to enhance awareness and understanding about the role and contribution of women to economic development and create an enabling environment in which women and girls can reach their full economic potential through increased social awareness and provision of economic opportunities.
11) Collaborate with international, regional and specialised organisations on research and initiatives to improve women’s abilities as entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders, including resource mobilization, capacity building, access to regional and international markets, exchange programs between centres and institutions of learning, and promotion of the Women’s Empowerment Principles.’
While these strategic action goals may seem extremely broad, they are significant in that they go beyond vague rhetoric regarding the development of women in the economic sphere and create concrete, measurable interventions. They speak to change that needs to occur at a sound foundational level, from the issue of training and schooling to the more direct issues of funding and the empowerment of women entrepreneurs seeking to enter the economic sector. Because of the deeply entrenched bias against the ability of women to actively and positively contribute to the different economic sectors, it is important that research be done on the impacts of female leadership to the business community, so that a new rhetoric can be born and information be made available to counter the often sung song that women are unable to contribute as much as men or that they are incapable and take more than they give The IORA strategic interventions make room for this , as there is recognition that grassroots discrimination be removed through truths that counter misrepresentation of the value of women leaders in the workplace. Another important aspect of these documents is that they are adopted at a regional level, with Member states agreeing to ensure their implementation. As such, there is an element of accountability attached to the achievements of these goals, although there is a no punitive mechanism for those Member States who renege on their commitments. The clarity of these proposed interventions ensures that the domestic legislation of Member States can be checked for progress.
Despite the undertakings made by the South African government on the empowerment of women, progress has been slow. It could be argued that these initiatives are still new (2018) and the COVID-19 Pandemic has hindered the ability of the government to act on its undertakings. The issue of gender equality was raised in 1994, however. The fact that commitments are being made to bring about changes in the sector at a regional level, first, more than 20 years later, is concerning. There have been small gains, however.
Over the last few decades, the industry has worked towards including women in the space. In 2019, SAMSA and SAIMI made history by sending off an all-female cadet team and training officers on a training opportunity at sea. This was a first step towards closing the gap relating to the miniscule representation of women seafarers in the industry. According to the then head of SAMSA’s Marine Special Services, a representation of only two percent of women within a global pool of 1.2 million seafarers calls for more work to be done to meet the expectations of a more inclusive maritime nation in the 21st century (South African Maritime Safety Authority, 2019) .
A 2020 report by the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG) on a meeting held by government with SAMSA on progress in the maritime sector contains their response to the question of progress on women empowerment in the maritime sector. The presentation noted how SAMSA has undertaken an initiative in which women development and empowerment is part of the agenda. SAMSA reported that it supports initiatives by several associations such as Women in Maritime, and Women in Ports and Port Administration. They also admitted that there was still much to do, as there has not been much progress on the space of women empowerment within the sector.
6.3. Positions Women Occupy in the Maritime Industry
While the status of women in the economy has improved over the years gaps remain with regards the economic opportunities that are available to women (Madsen, 2020) . One of these gaps relates to the ability of women to secure management positions. According to the 2019 World Development Bank Report, less than a fifth of firms employ woman as senior managers (The World Development Bank, 2019) . The report further outlines that globally, in every occupation, men outnumber women, with only a quarter of women holding the title of manager, and women only accounting for 39% of the world’s professionals. The statistics are no different within the maritime industry. According to an article published in the Safety for Sea online journal, women occupy only 5% of maritime leadership roles (Safety 4 Sea, 2021) , This could be related to the total number of women in the workforce as well as those who are actually in positions where they can be promoted to leadership positions. Given that the introduction of women to the workforce is a recent phenomenon, and that the proportion of women within the global workforce differs according to the rate of female emancipation, figures and global statistics cannot therefore be taken at face value but must be read in the light of the actual number of women within the sector, to understand the real level of progress.
The United Nations Women Department (2022) has put together a list of facts and figures relating to women in the workplace that will assist in the analysis of the data on women in the maritime subsector.
“Differences in gender-related laws affect both developing and developed economies, and women in all regions. Over 2.7 billion women globally are legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men. Of the 189 economies assessed in 2018, 104 countries still have laws preventing women from working in specific jobs, 59 countries have no laws on sexual harassment in the workplace, and in 18 countries, husbands could still legally prevent their wives from working.
Women are still less likely to participate in the labour market than men throughout the world. The labour force participation rate for women aged 25 - 54 was 63 per cent compared to 94 per cent for men in 2018. This rate decreased further when younger (aged 15 years and up) and older women (aged 55 and up) were included. In 2018 the total percentage of women in the global labour force was 48.5 per cent, 26.5 percentage points below that of men.
Women are more likely to be unemployed than men. In 2017, global unemployment rates for men and women stood at 5.5 per cent and 6.2 per cent respectively. With the COVID-19 crisis, these percentages have increased. Although no certain figures are available, figures showed that 45 percent of women left the labor force during the pandemic.
These figures are important as they lay a foundation against which current research statistics can be measured.
Other factors by the UN Women “Impacting on women in the workplace” include the following:
Globally, women are paid less than men. The gender wage gap is estimated to be 23 per cent. This means that women earn 77 per cent of what men earn, though these figures understate the real extent of gender pay gaps, particularly in developing countries where informal self-employment is prevalent. Women also face the motherhood wage penalty, which increases as the number of children a woman has increases.
The digital divide remains a gendered one: most of the 3.9 billion people who are offline are in rural areas, poorer, less educated and tend to be women and girls.
Women are less likely to be entrepreneurs and face more disadvantages starting businesses: In 40% of economies, women’s early-stage entrepreneurial activity is half or less than half of that of men.
Women are constrained from achieving the highest leadership positions: Only 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women.
Violence and harassment in the world of work affects women regardless of age, location, income or social status. The economic costs—a reflection of the human and social costs—to the global economy of discriminatory social institutions and violence against women is estimated to be approximately USD 12 trillion annually.
The map (Figure 1) below contains the 2015 regional figures relating to the concentration of female employment.
6.3.1. Stereotypes about Women in Management
Despite the inclusion of women in the working environment, their ability to breach the management gap is still a challenge. According to the McKinsey Report on Women in the workplace 2022, women are leaving their workplaces at a much higher rate than expected. Three main reasons were found for this. These include the following: (McKinsey, 2022)
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Figure 1. Women in the workplace. Source: https://fortune.com/2015/03/05/women-in-the-workforce/.
1) Women leaders want to advance but face stronger headwinds than their male counterparts.
Despite this desire they are likely to experience the following.
Microaggressions that undermine their authority.
Women are more likely than male leaders to be told that they aren’t qualified for their jobs.
They are also twice as likely than men leaders to be mistaken for someone more junior.
Report that personal characteristics, such as their gender or being a parent, have played a role in them being denied or passed over for a raise, promotion, or chance to get ahead.
2) Women leaders are overworked and underrecognized.
a) Compared with men at their level, women leaders do more to support employee well-being and foster diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)—work that dramatically improves retention and employee satisfaction but is not formally rewarded in most companies.
b) Forty percent of women leaders say their DEI work isn’t acknowledged at all in performance reviews.
c) Spending time and energy on work that isn’t recognized could make it harder for women leaders to advance. It also means that women leaders are stretched thinner than men in leadership.
d) As a result, 43 percent of women leaders are burned out, compared with only 31 percent of men at their level.
3) Women leaders are seeking a different culture of work.
*They are more likely than male leaders to leave their jobs because they want more flexibility or because they want to work for a company that is more committed to employee well-being and DEI.
In a study on stereotypes in management and the reasons for the challenges facing women, Tabassum & Nayak (2021) noted the impacts of gender stereotyping in the managerial context, referring to slogans relating to management which have been found in previous research, such as “Think Management, Think Male” and with regards female management “Think Crisis, Think Female.” They referred to general characteristics that are commonly attributed to management by both male and female respondents. Successful leaders are deemed to possess characteristics commonly associated with men, such as leadership ability, competitiveness, self-confidence, objectivity, aggressiveness, forcefulness, ambition and desire for responsibility. Women, however, are associated with qualities related to concern for the sympathetic treatment of others. These include being affectionate, helpful, friendly, kind and sympathetic, as well as interpersonally sensitive, gentle and soft-spoken. As such, their very nature is deemed to work against them. Where women were given leadership roles, it was found that many such leaders tended to deny their feminine characteristics and took on male characteristics to fit in, often becoming part of the patriarchal structure that suppressed them. They also found that the behavior of women managers tended to differ in developed and developing economies. In developed countries, where women enjoyed more rights, they were more likely to speak out and display their female characteristics. Female leaders in developing countries were much more oppressed and tended to conform more to patriarchal norms, often being silent about their rights.
Within the workplace, they identified the following factors that worked against women being placed in managerial and other positions of responsibility (Tabassum & Nayak, 2021) :
Organizational culture: Stereotyping is promoted through the division of labour according to gender. This suggests that the gendered division of labour influences stereotyping to justify the division of labour.
Status of women in the workplace: Women in workplaces are usually perceived as emotional, illogical and intuitive decision makers. Research has shown that this is not true.
Gender specific behaviour in the workplace. Privileges offered to women, such as the assignment of less risky projects or the provision of the nearest parking spaces can cause stereotypes.
In -group favouritism in the workplace: an example would be the hiring of fewer women for jobs with higher levels of male characteristics.
The impacts of these stereotypes are that women are considered less suitable for managerial positions because they were seen as more emotional, risk averse, intuitive and weaker than men. Because they were deemed to possess less of the male -related characteristics attributed to successful leadership, stereotypes were therefore an entrenched reason for the challenges women faced in seeking managerial positions.
6.3.2. The IMO and WISTA Women in Maritime 2021 Survey Results
The IMO-WISTA 2021 global maritime survey was the first of its kind, as it sought to identify the status of women within the maritime sector, globally. Both the public and private sector were surveyed, although responses from South Africa were obtained only from the private sector. Data relating to the public sector is therefore not applicable to South Africa. Within the industry survey, 500 completed responses were recorded. The largest single category was that of ship owning companies, followed by maritime associations. In the ship owning companies’ women were found to make up some 34% of respondents’ workforces. In the latter, it was 16%. Respondents were also from other frontline operational sectors: port operators; cruise; bunkering; and the workboat industries including fishing, offshore, towage, and dredging. Overall, the share of women employees by sub-sector was 29%.
On the question of the share of female seafarers a company employed, the survey found that they were less than 2% of the global workforce. The proportion of seafarers within South Africa was between 3 and 10 percent. Most female seafarers are employed by the cruise industry. The towage/salvage/dredging industries had one of the lowest percentages of women employed overall at just 10%. Of those, 8% of core roles are populated by women. The bunkering industry also had 10% female workforce with 9% occupying core roles.
The lowest percentage of women were employed in the offshore sector, at 4%, with women occupying just 6% of core roles. Women made up a much bigger percentage of onshore industries. In advertising, marketing, and public relations, more than half of the employees surveyed were women. In marine insurance women made up 51% of the workforce. An intriguing finding related to crewing agencies and crew training segments where more than half of their workforces were women at 55%. Women also occupied 70% of core roles within this group. Despite this fact, most seafarers at the time of the survey remain men; but they are being recruited and trained by women. This then raises the question of whether women prevent other women from progressing in roles which they perceive as masculine or whether they were in fact following company crewing mandates. This is an area which requires more research. With regards the positions held by women, 39% of women within the surveyed companies work in mid-management, 28% in technical roles, and 48% in administrative and support roles. Of the companies that stated that they had a board, the share of female board members was 28%. Within the C-level positions, of the more than 500 participating companies 125 had female CEOs, 127 female chief HR officers, and 109 had female chief financial officers. Most respondents stated that their female workforce was between 25 - 44 years old, followed by 45 - 54-year-olds. (Table 4)
A question was raised about whether formal policies were in place in the workplace to promote gender equality. Results showed that 44% of respondent employers have a formal policy in place to promote gender equality. The most radical measure used was quotas. The most popular measure was that of using gender neutral language in job descriptions. This is a zero-cost policy, with nothing needing to be changed internally or operationally. On the other hand, more tangible progress lies in ensuring pay equality, which does require changes at the operational level. In total, more than 200 companies say they ensure pay equality among employees. A total of 59 respondents said that they have specific qualitative measures in place for increasing diversity. Providing organizational training around bias was rarer. In all, about half as many companies provided this as initiatives in place to ensure pay equality.
7. Impressions from Maritime Survey Results
This section provides the impressions obtained from information gathered through the KZN maritime survey. The survey conducted had too few respondents for any conclusive deductions to be made from their responses. Of the 25 responses, two were from women- owned businesses and the remaining 23 from women within the maritime industry. Sixteen of the respondents were in the shipping transportation industry, from different companies and cities. The remaining seven were from six different maritime -related businesses. Insights from the shipping industry respondents are as follows:
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Table 4. Share of women employee by subsector, on boards per subsector. In mid-management, in core and support roles. (IMO-WISTA Maritime Survey).
1) Of the 16 respondents, only one was in a technical role (engineering) the remaining 15 occupied support roles such as Operations/Productions (8), Finance (3), Communications/Public relations (2) and Consultancy/Advisory (1).
2) Fourteen of the 16 participants stated that there was a policy in their company for the empowerment of women.
3) Strategies being used to encourage gender equality included mentoring, the encouragement of gender diversity, inclusion at senior management level, promotion and recruitment.
4) While most participants were unclear about the impacts of these strategies, a few stated that they had the effect of increasing the number of senior executives, increasing confidence of women in the mentorship programme and encouraging women to participate in the training opportunities presented.
5) When asked what they felt should be done to improve the lot of women in maritime, participants provided the following:
a) Patience, policy implementation, building self-confidence in women, building knowledge, mentorship,
b) Being respectful and valuing the presence of women in the workplace,
c) The industry needs to recognise that females can do the same job as men, don’t employ them because they increase the female numbers, employ women and train them and allow women to do the job they are hired to do. Talking about their inclusion is not enough, there should be visible actions that show that women are wanted and included in the industry. Allow in the spaces that they would not usually be in.
d) No more is needed. I speak as a woman, and the observations I have made. I have noticed that women in the Maritime Industry are mostly inadequately prepared as they are promoted prematurely to expediate this process. As a result, creating a sect of women that reign over other women who have not reached their level of seniority in the industry by belittling and demeaning them. I think that women create a more antagonistic environment as they feel the need to prove they belong, as there are many who don’t have nepotism and other favourable condition to escalate their careers, accept hard work. These women are seen as threats. It becomes an unpleasant environment for everyone to exist in even if you are not affected by these problems. The maritime industry, especially the authority sector is highly affected by this practice. This produces unnecessary negativity and influences other sectors of the shipping industry, where banter about the poor quality of management and the women in maritime is heard. I feel that all women in maritime become labelled as incompetents as a result. This practice is also related to the glass cliff, where women are promoted to positions where they are doomed to fail.
While the results were too few to make any conclusions about the nature of female employment in the maritime sector, it is concerning that the women who chose to speak out did not have many positive impressions about their inclusion in the sector. Because of the lack of will by senior management within the port sector to participate in the survey, no definite conclusions could be reached regarding the level of transformation within the semi-private port administrative and operations sector. Interviews with two managers in the sector revealed that there has been transformation within the port sector, albeit at different paces, depending on the ability of women to perform therein. Within the Richards Bay port, there were 16 female harbour pilots and 6 men, who occupied supervisor positions. Within the engineering sector, which has many functions, where the work required more physical strength, there were fewer women. Women had progressed within management, however. Because the progression of women within management was often quota-related, some of these promotions were deserved while others were not, with women being promoted to positions they were not yet ready for, ahead of men who should have obtained the relevant positions. This has contributed towards animosity in the relevant departments, especially where it was understood that the females were quota managers. Because of the political climate within the sector, the women interviewed did not wish to reveal too much. One manager did refer to the lack of support which she received from the women under her and the loneliness she felt, as she had to work harder to prove herself, not just to the men in her department, but her female colleagues. She did reveal, however, that women were thriving in the logistics sector, as pilots. Once again, despite these inputs, the sample was too small to reach any conclusions. It does appear that, despite the efforts made to transform the sector through the quota system, where women are promoted prematurely, this impacts on the confidence of the women involved and the morale of the departments in which these promotions occurred, with these managers not receiving the respect or support which they would want and need. Despite the need to transform the sector and include women in management positions, women would rather earn their promotions. It is questionable whether the quota system is the correct approach, as it may indeed lead to the lack of credibility in female management and could backfire in the future. It would be preferable to promote measures that deal with the structural blockages to change so that more women could enter traditionally closed sectors and work, on an equal footing with their male counterparts, in an environment that rewards their efforts and provides them with the same opportunities as men to grow and develop their careers.
8. Recommendations and Conclusion
From the level of research being done and the policies which are being adopted at national, regional and international levels, women empowerment in the workplace is a growing concern. The maritime sector has not been neglected, although there is still much work to be done. From the research done at a global level through the IMO and the UN, patterns in the distribution of women in the workplace are evident. Even through women have managed to enter all maritime subsectors, their presence is still restricted in the more male dominated sectors, where they occupy mostly support roles and are not included in the core functions or management roles within these sectors. A fact which was noted by Tabassum & Nayak (2021) in their research on women in management was that, in many instances where women were on boards or in senior management positions, particularly in male dominated sectors, this was mainly due to family connections, with either a father or a brother owning a maritime -related business. Without these family connections, it was still difficult for women to work their way into senior management or board positions, except for tokenism. Analysis of the figures alone does not provide the whole picture and can lead to inaccurate determinations regarding the progress of women in male-dominated industries in the maritime sector.
The figures also confirm gender bias and the divisions of labour, with statistics showing that women have indeed made progress in sectors which are regarded as female or naturing sectors, like the heath sector, training, cleaning, teaching and support roles like admin, bookkeeping as well as law and other clean professions. The maritime offshore sector has the least women. Given the stereotype that women should not be exposed to high-risk environments, it is understandable that sectors such has underwater welding, drilling, construction, exploration and others have not been as accepting of female employees. Despite the normal gender stereotype, however, questions arise regarding awareness of these sectors and the availability of training, together with onboarding or training requirements. Even though information is being made available, it is questionable whether the current research covers all the required areas.
From the perspective of enablement, it is essential that legislation be enacted that not only recognizes the rights of women within the economic space but also empowers them by dealing with the unfair challenges which they face, particularly the pay gap, lack of access to management positions, discrimination and abuse, be it harassment or physical abuse. Policies and legislation have so far been positive, allowing for change without specifying boundaries for change. There is also a need for a negative legislative approach, where it is illegal for companies to pay men more than women for the same work. Pay scales should be transparent, with contracts acknowledging the actual work done, and not placing limitations on things like hours billable, where results require more work than billable hours. Legislation should also prevent the penalization of women for childbirth, or flexible working hours. Given that parents are both male and female, childcare allowances should be made for male and female employees, to enable couples to choose who will work from home to raise their children and allow the careers of wives to be prioritized over that of their partner, where there is a need.
The issue of abuse is more difficult to monitor, as women are as likely to be silent as they are to speak out, especially in hostile environments where they are not accepted. Regardless of legislation and the protections offered, there is still a gap between monitoring, evaluation and reporting and the protections meant to be offered by legislation. Methods will have to be found that make legislative provisions more applicable in these settings.
The issue with gender stereotyping is still deeply entrenched within the system. The fact that the maritime sector shows the clear distinction between male and female roles and reflects societal norms means that, if women align with the roles assigned to them, they will be able to progress within the maritime sector. Progress has been made in the male dominated sectors like engineering, technology, science, and technical roles, regardless of how little it is, showing that there is room for change. The reason why there are so few women entering these areas still needs to be determined as it could be attributed to socialization, schooling, lack of awareness or discrimination. That the maritime sector reflects gender stereotypes also indicates that there is still much work to be done to change these gender role prescriptions and limitations. While legislation, policies and conventions have a role to play, without efforts to change the narrative, the situation will take a long time to resolve. At present, gender stereotypes are reinforced through media, parental pressures, culture, child rearing practices, schooling, religion and other societal gender- related practices. So long as mainstream media, be it television, Instagram, magazines, documentaries and even animation and toys, books etc. continue to reinforce gender stereotypes, little boys and girls will continue to make career choices based on societal programming rather than their own desires. Without targeted interventions meant to change the rhetoric, these stereotypes will remain. For this reason, where government can, policies should be adopted to extend gender neutral practices to schools, universities, and other training avenues. At the school level, technical subjects such as woodwork and cooking, as well as technology, should be introduced at an earlier grade where they are compulsory for all learners. This will expose learners of all genders to areas which they have been excluded from previously, thus extending the Constitutional right to equality. To extend the message through the media, film makers could be incentivized to change the message which they are bringing the South African public by creating media which shows strong, empowered women and exposes their struggles in the workplace. Given that gender-based violence is a real issue in South Africa, all media that violates women or diminishes women or which portrays violence against women as acceptable should be banned. While there is freedom of the press, the use of these freedoms should be done in a manner which is responsible and does not perpetuate hate speech. The Films and Publications Amendment Act (Govt Gazette, 2019) , these should also be extended to religious practices which perpetuate beliefs that women are inferior and encourage violent or discriminatory treatment of women at homes, within marriages or in the workplace. It is only when society recognizes the depth of the problem and understands the implications of discriminatory practices on the welfare and wellbeing of women, men and children, that lasting positive changes will be seen in the workplace and especially at the level of management.
Given that the resistance against women in management can be tied to cultural and religious norms that state that women must be dominated and that women are not to rule over men, without these beliefs being debunked through research and the exposure of these untruths through movies or documentaries of the achievements of women in science, technology, medicine, research and development as well as sectors like engineering and maritime, change will be slow. Another issue that was raised was that of possible women against women violence within the system, with female executives actively blocking access by other women to core roles within traditionally masculine sectors. This was an issue raised where, despite a majority female board and HR team, the percentage of women seafarers was only 2 percent. Interviews with male leaders within the maritime sector also revealed this possible problem, with women in management positions responsible for bullying and negative gatekeeping practices, blocking access of women whom they perceive to be threats.
Without more research on the number of women who train to enter these male dominated sectors, the number of women in senior positions due to family networks or businesses or the impact of media on the career choices of women or even the cultural barriers placed on women which prevent, hinder or penalize women who enter certain maritime professions, it may be difficult to make accurate decisions regarding the sector. The following studies are therefore recommended:
1) The role of family networks in the promotion of women to senior management or board positions within the maritime sector.
2) The extent of women on women violence and gatekeeping within the maritime sector and its influence on the promotion and acceptance of women into the sector.
3) The impacts of media on female career choices.
4) The extent to which culture and religion affect women’s career aspirations and factors which can break the hold of these influences of women in the workplace.
5) The long-term impacts of quotas as a means of increasing female managers.
6) Methods of rewarding the women’s invisible labour in the fishing sector.
7) The reasons why so few girls enter STEM-oriented careers.
Given the challenges faced in sourcing primary data, secondary data sources were used for survey results. While these surveys were conducted through reputable international government and non -governmental organisations, research parameters were not known. Another limitation relates to the factors outside of the scope of most surveys. Even through information captures the current figures for women employed in the different sectors, there is not sufficient information relating to the number of women entering each sector, the number of women studying and qualifying for employment within each sector or the number of women job applicants within the sectors. A deeper understanding of the rate of acceptance or rejection of female job applicants or interns will increase the understanding of the levels of discrimination. Where quotas or anti-discriminatory measures are being applied, such as the Employment Equity legislation within the South African context, the question of employment on merit versus employment to meet quotas is then raised. Once again, there is insufficient information, although it is to be expected that, where there are already very few females in the sector or women are late entrants into the sector, many of the promotions to mid -management positions are quota -related and do not accurately reflect the true competencies of the women occupying these positions. Given that industry is more likely to promote on merit due to efficiency concerns, there are more likely to be quota promotions in the public sector, where market related efficiencies are less applicable.
Despite the advances made in the empowerment of women, studies done on the status of women in the workplace all confirm that gender stereotypes have influenced and defined the types of work which women and men do as well as their reception within different work environments. They also contribute towards the attitudes with which women’s contribution to the workplace are met and the difference in remuneration between male and female contributions. While these antiquated ideas may have seemed reasonable in a time when women were protected and men were the main breadwinner in their homes, they no longer reflect the status of women, who often must single handedly raise their families on half the salaries and respect given to their male counterparts, especially in the maritime sector. Despite legislative changes, global empowerment programmes and positive policy initiatives, the maritime sector remains a hostile environment for women, especial the subsectors which have been deemed traditionally male While female management participation shows growth in the traditionally female work sectors, this change has not been carried to the more traditional male sectors, where participation in core roles, boards and mid management is still very low. The belief that female traits make them unsuitable for management positions remains pervasive, with the very gender attributes that have been cultivated in women, such as submissiveness, lack of aggression, gentleness, and other cultivated feminine attributes being used against them. Without a revision of gender stereotypes and interventions to change mindsets regarding what constitutes male or female behavior, the rate of progress of women within the male dominated industries in the maritime sector will remain slow and the plight of women in these sectors difficult.