As the maritime industry faces rising pressures – from workforce shortages to evolving safety expectations and the drive for long‑term sustainability – diversity has become an essential pillar of progress. This is especially true in the ongoing effort to support more women entering and advancing in seafaring careers. With the release of the Guidelines on the Application of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (Fifth Edition), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is shining a renewed spotlight on the lived realities of women at sea and the practical measures shipowners can take to foster safer, more inclusive workplaces.
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Findings from the IMO–WISTA Women in Maritime Survey 2024 show modest progress ashore, with women now accounting for around 19 per cent of employment across surveyed maritime organisations within IMO Member States. However, this improvement contrasts sharply with conditions at sea. According to the BIMCO/ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2021, women represent just over one per cent of the global active seafarer workforce, while separate maritime education and training data cited by the IMO and WISTA suggests that only around five per cent of seafaring students are female. For Sarah Lovell, Technical Content Development Manager at ICS and a former seafarer, these figures highlight why diversity must remain central to the maritime agenda: “A diverse workforce is essential if the maritime industry is to keep improving and remain competitive. Diversity enables us to adapt, innovate, and progress in step with other sectors.”
Lovell’s perspective is rooted in her early career, when women were scarce within training cohorts and almost absent from senior roles. A defining influence came when she sailed with one of the UK’s first female Captains, an experience that offered guidance and set an enduring example. Today, she sees encouraging signs: more female cadets, more women progressing into officer ranks, and a growing online presence that highlights women’s achievements at sea. That visibility, she believes, plays a powerful role in reassuring and inspiring those considering a seafaring career. Alongside this, the emergence of support networks – largely absent when she began her training – has created spaces where women can share experiences, build confidence, and strengthen resilience.
Despite this progress, daily challenges remain, often rooted in the practical realities of working and living on board. One major area addressed in ICS’s new guide is menstrual hygiene provision. Lovell highlights situations many women face but seldom articulate: being caught without sanitary products while on watch, relying on shared bathrooms that lack sanitary disposal facilities, or feeling reluctant to request a brief break during a night watch to access essential items that might not be to hand.
Some companies have already adopted proactive approaches, such as discreetly placing sanitary products in bridge or engine control room first-aid boxes, or installing sanitary bins in shared washrooms. However, Lovell stresses that such provisions should become standard practice across the industry. “Companies providing sanitary bins in female seafarers’ cabins and shared bathrooms is not a luxury. It is something that is much needed if we want to retain and recruit female seafarers.”
As with every new edition, the ICS guide highlights updates to the Maritime Labour Convention, reflecting the MLC’s core purpose of safeguarding dignity, comfort and operational safety on board. Within this context, the latest guidance includes revised provisions on shipboard sanitary supplies. Lovell recalls cadets asking practical questions about how many sanitary products to pack, where to store them, or how to manage unexpected situations while on watch. Addressing these concerns through appropriate shipboard provisioning removes a significant source of stress, particularly for those new to the industry, and reduces reliance on shore leave to access essential supplies. Ensuring menstrual products are available in ship’s stores is a relatively minor operational measure, but one that can deliver meaningful improvements in wellbeing and retention.
Beyond these practical considerations, Lovell emphasises broader cultural and safety issues that continue to shape women’s experiences at sea. Many feel a pressure to outperform male colleagues to validate their competence. Safety concerns, including the risk of violence, harassment or sexual assault, also influence decisions about remaining in the profession. Strengthened requirements within the updated Maritime Labour Convention, reflected clearly in the Guidelines on the Application of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (Fifth Edition), set out clear expectations for shipowners to implement anti‑harassment and anti‑bullying policies, alongside robust victim safeguarding procedures. For Lovell, this represents a critical milestone. ICS and the ITF have long advocated for these measures through their joint free Guidance on Eliminating Shipboard Harassment and Bullying, and seeing its principles reflected within the formal MLC framework marks a significant step forward.
These updates build on previous improvements. The 2022 MLC amendments introduced the requirement for properly fitting PPE, including clothing and footwear designed specifically for women. Lovell recalls the safety risks associated with ill‑fitting gear and the improvisation often used by female seafarers when smaller sizes were unavailable. Recognising and addressing these needs signalled an important cultural shift, one that the MLC continues to reinforce. Together, these developments demonstrate that diversity is not an optional add‑on but a core component of a modern, professional maritime workforce.
However, long‑term retention will depend on more than regulatory updates. Lovell points to the importance of flexible working arrangements, supportive maternity and parental leave policies, and career pathways that allow women (like men) to combine family life with senior roles at sea. She notes encouraging examples where companies have introduced phased return‑to‑sea options following maternity leave and strengthened inclusive recruitment practices guided by the Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit for Shipping. Meanwhile, improved digital connectivity reduces the isolation that has historically driven some seafarers away from long‑term maritime careers.
Today, the business case for diversity is widely recognised. A broader talent pool supports sustainable workforce pipelines, enhances decision‑making on board and contributes to safer operations. Increasingly, shipowners acknowledge that diverse crews offer not only social value but commercial benefits, especially amid global officer shortages.
Looking ahead, Lovell’s vision of an inclusive shipboard environment is simple: one where women feel safe, respected and equipped to perform their roles without being treated as exceptions.
When asked what final message she would like to share, her response is unambiguous: provision for women at sea must be strengthened, implemented and enforced. “These aren’t optional extras,” she says. “This is how we attract and retain the diverse workforce our industry needs for the future.”
