WOMEN IN MARITIME

Did you know that 90% of world trade is carried by ocean going vessels?

In Fall of 2018 a few colleagues and I embarked on a journey to enter a research competition called by the World Maritime University. The theme of the year as presented by the International Maritime Organization was “Women in Maritime”.

Since the four of us are women and we work in the Technology sector of the maritime industry we picked our topic: The Impact of Digital Transformation on Gender Equality in Commercial Maritime.

ABSTRACT

The systemic gender gap in maritime organizations recently has been brought into focus due to prioritization from the global community. In parallel, this traditionally analog industry has begun to modernize its approach to technology, fueled by the concept of Digital Transformation. While significant literature exists on both gender equality and Digital Transformation within Commercial Maritime separately, previous research has failed to illuminate the connection between these two topics. This research study proposes a positive correlation between Digital Transformation and gender equality in the maritime space, and identifies common corporate actions, digital initiatives, and cultural behaviors that catalyze opportunity for women in the workplace. Final findings are based on an analysis of data collected from a range of publicly available sources, including corporate workforce statistics, governmental labor figures, and industry news outlets. These third-party data are augmented by new research findings collected via quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews distributed to and conducted with maritime professionals, both male and female. The goal of this research is to determine the correlation, if any, between Digital Transformation and gender equality within the maritime industry.

Reach out and ask me to learn more about the research results, and about what we can do as an industry to promote women in maritime.