2) Social relationships on board can be particularly challenging for women at sea (i.e. feeling isolated or unsupported because of their gender, concerns about gossip or rumours, or abuse of power or sexual harassment and sexual misconduct on board).

3) Systemic problems of employment at sea (i.e. service contracts at sea are too long, lack of family planning options such as maternity leave or shore-based rotation schemes, resulting in many women having to choose between a career at sea OR starting a family, in turn pushing women seafarers to find employment elsewhere and, finally, many companies are still unwilling to hire women seafarers).

4) Physical conditions on board (i.e. lack of access to female sanitary products on board or lack of access to properly fitted personal protective equipment (PPE) such as boiler rooms, fire gloves etc., or lack of access to designated women's changing rooms, toilets etc. on board).

To explore the challenges and give women seafarers a voice, a total of 115 interviews were conducted, asking women seafarers from different ranks, geographies and parts of the maritime industry the following questions:

• How long have you been working as a seafarer?

• Have you worked on ships with other women seafarers?

• What is your preferred ratio/number of women seafarers on board a ship?

• What have been the obstacles you have experienced in your life at sea?

• What has made life at sea a positive experience for you?

• What more can be done to better prepare ships and crews to have more women on board (e.g. culture, leadership and contracts, etc.)?

• What could have changed to keep you at sea?

From the analysis of women seafarers' ideas and recommendations for the industry, the Global Maritime Forum identified 15 key weaknesses or challenges, which can be grouped into four categories.

15 key weaknesses/challenges

Category 1: Difficult for women to succeed professionally at sea

1. A shipboard culture where women are treated as 'less' competent than their male counterparts

2. Women having to outperform their male counterparts to be perceived as competent

3. Women having unequal access to on-board job training

4. Being assigned different tasks than male colleagues

Category 2: Challenging social relationships on board

1. A culture in which (avoiding) rumours and gossip is a concern

2. Women feeling isolated, unsupported and/or lonely on board

3. Abuse of power by officers

4. Sexual abuse and sexual harassment

Category 3: Challenges of seafaring employment

1. Contracts at sea are too long

2. Lack of family planning options, including maternity leave and shore-based rotation programmes

3. Companies unwilling to hire women

4. Women seafarers are going elsewhere

Category 4: Physical conditions on board

1. Access to female sanitary products on board

2. Access to appropriate personal protective equipment, e.g. coverall sizes, fire suits and boot sizes

3. Access to designated women's changing rooms, toilets, laundry area, etc.

Source: Safety4sea