they’ve never sailed with a female officer. Shortly after comes the question, “Why are you not at home with your husband and children?” On hearing I have no children, their next question is “Why not/when will you?”. It isn’t offensive, but it becomes tiring and is certainly not among the first questions asked of a male officer on board.
A male officer giving instructions/ raising their voice/objecting to the jokes and subject of discussion, is considered being a leader and his reactions are justified as part of the job. A female officer doing the same is considered bossy/emotional/ ‘has a chip on her shoulder’/unable to take a joke and is overreacting. In my experience, if you fail to react substantially when appropriate, you are deemed weak and not in control of the situation. Attacks also become more personal; instead of just the generic name-calling there is the accusation that you’re only there to improve diversity statistics or because of false/inappropriate favouritism.
Fitting in
Team dynamics and the ability to interact successfully with the crew is also under the microscope. Be professional and distant (but still maintain an open-door policy for grievances and discussion). If you don’t, you’re cold and not a team player. Being a good team player can result in a different interpretation with accusations of being unprofessional and flirting.
Achieving that successful balance with multiple different individuals is incredibly difficult, time consuming and needs a lot of personal and situational awareness – notice I use the term ‘individuals’, not the sweeping generalization of ‘all male seafarers’. Get the balance wrong and the rumours can falsely follow you around the fleet faster than the relief boat.
Such pressure of perfecting this balance, among the other ongoing battles, can have a detrimental impact on a seafarer’s mental health. Seafarers are more at risk as there is no real escape – once you join the vessel you are living and working in that environment for a few weeks or a few months. This is compounded (for some) by the impact of not being used to being away from home; not being used to being so outnumbered by the opposite sex; the constant judgement and criticism (in some cases bullying and harassment) and the lack of connectivity with the outside world. Yes, seafarers choose this lifestyle, but it doesn’t mean it is an easy transition, every vessel or crew change can reset the cycle.
Consequences
Recipients of long-term negative attention are more likely to withdraw and internalize the criticism – believe that they are at fault or deserving of the abuse and are more susceptible to developing depression and anxiety. From a Chief Officer and QHSE perspective, the
concerns are that the team then becomes fractured – crew are more distracted than usual, safety and situational awareness are no longer a priority and critical jobs may not be completed fully. If an individual does not feel comfortable in their working environment, they are less likely to draw attention to a problem or to ask for help – this increases the risk of accidents and injuries.
Mentoring and role models
Mentoring is a key way to support female seafarers. Allow them a safe space and be their point of contact to reach out for guidance and support if it is needed. Mentees I’m connected with have expressed that knowing there is someone there who has been through what they are going through is of comfort. Knowing they have a contact number and/or email address of someone that will respond if needed is of comfort. I wanted to be that point of contact for other women, so they didn’t have to go through what I did alone, but I’m enraged at the frequency and severity that it is still occurring.
Examples of women within the industry that are well publicised include Captain Kate McCue, first American female cruise ship captain; Reshma Nilefer Nata, India’s first female river pilot; UK Captain Belinda Bennett – WISTA UK who also has the added accolade of being the first black female cruise captain in history; and Captain Radhika Meron of IWSF, first Lady Master of India, to name just a few.
62 | The Report • June 2021 • Issue 96
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