by Lloyd's List

16 May 2025 (Lloyd's List) - WOMEN’S International Shipping & Trading Association president Elpi Petraki admitted she was “hoping for much better results” from the Women in Maritime Survey it co-publishes with the International Maritime Organization.

On the surface, the 2024 edition of the survey, which was also conducted in 2021, shows some improvement when it comes to gender diversity within the shipping industry.

The results of the 2024 edition showed 176,820 women working in maritime across both private and public sectors, an increase of 14% from the 151,979 recorded in 2021.

But crucially, the global maritime workforce has grown considerably since the last survey, which means women now account for just under 19% of the workforce sampled, versus 26% in 2021.

The results are even starker when focusing only on the private sector. Female employees make up just over 16% of the workforce in that sector, compared to the 29% recorded in 2021.

A drop was also seen in female representation in mid-management positions, declining to just 20% in 2024 from 39% in 2021.

The report notes that while some sectors have “achieved gains in gender parity within board and c-suite roles, the maritime industry continues to exhibit significant imbalances at the highest levels of decision making”.

Once again, representation at sea remains a significant problem, with women accounting for just over 1% of global seafarers.

Despite the number of IMO member states participating in the survey more than doubling (94 datasets were received compared with 45 in 2021), just under half of states did not respond to the survey.

IMO deputy-director of planning and programming Louise Proctor said she could “only encourage member states” to recognise the importance of data gathering.

“Women in maritime is something that we’re talking about all the time.”

“It’s not really a debate now,” she said, adding that there was “no reason why the member states can’t engage in those conversations”.

Also worrying is the lack of representation of younger women in maritime administrations. Only Argentina reported a staff member in the 18-24 age range, Proctor said, despite this group forming the second largest in the female workforce.

Proctor admitted this was “concerning” and “could be indicative of systemic issues in recruiting young women into the maritime arm of national governments”.

Petraki’s disappointment with some of the results, which she described as a step backwards, is perhaps understandable.

While she acknowledged there was some cause for positivity in certain sectors (advertising, recruitment and ship brokerage all saw increases in female participation), she said the data showed “how opportunities across the industry continue to be limited for women due to barriers such as gender stereotyping, workplace safety concerns, a lack of family friendly policies and the ongoing gender pay gap”.

IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez admitted there was “some way to go”.

“Female representation is still disproportionately low, and women represent a small fraction of the seagoing workforce, highlighting the urgent need for continued commitment and action,” he said.

“We must redouble our efforts to foster a truly diverse and inclusive maritime industry.”

Petraki said she continued to have to explain to men in the industry why it was important for women to play a greater role in shipping.

“This is frustrating for me now,” she said. “We are going back to 50 years ago when Wista was established. Why women are suitable for vessels, why women are suitable for boards, for leadership. Why don’t people understand this?”

The findings of the survey “underscore a critical juncture for the industry”, the report said.

“While progress has been noted, the persistent disparities highlight the urgent need to move beyond dialogue to decisive implementation.”

Proctor said there was a risk “if we don’t make the change now, that this gap is going to widen”, but was confident there was “enough momentum to take this forward if we’re got the right people leading the change”.

Petraki was more emphatic in her assessment of the industry’s position: “It’s about time we take responsibility and we do more than talk and have some actions.”

But three years on from the inaugural survey it appears the maritime industry has plateaued, if not gone backwards, in its campaign for greater gender diversity. Without concrete investment and policy, there is little reason to think the next edition of the survey will be materially different.