Gender Diversity Booklet Published

(from left to right) WISTA India President Sanjam Sahi Gupta; Director and Principal Anglo-Eastern Maritime Training Centre Capt. Deboo; WISTA International President Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou; Director General of Shipping in India Dr. Malini Shankar;

Published Jan 30, 2018 6:08 PM by The Maritime Executive

International Seafarers' Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) and Anglo-Eastern Ship Management in cooperation with WISTA International have published a new booklet on building and maintaining gender diversity on board merchant ships.

The booklet addresses social, cultural and interpersonal issues that can obstruct productivity of a shipboard team. It aims to sensitize junior and senior officers to the challenges female seafarers may face including sexual harassment, bullying and negative attitudes from male colleagues.

Women form 39.3 percent of the workforce globally. However, female seafarers constitute only two percent of seafarers.

"This booklet represents an important collaboration between the corporate, welfare and non-profit sides of shipping to create a global industry that is inclusive, diverse and strong," said Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou, president of WISTA International.

In a separate initiative last year, the Ship Operations Cooperative Program (SOCP) released brochures and posters on prevention of sexual assault, sexual harassment, retaliation, bystander intervention, bullying, hazing, coercion, stalking and other prohibited behaviors in the U.S. Merchant Marine.