Women often lack the opportunities to pursue technical careers in maritime, believes WISTA International President Elpi Petraki
Across the entire maritime sector women account for 29% of the overall workforce, but as data published in the 2021 IMO-WISTA (Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association) Women in Maritime Survey Report revealed there are enormous disparities not only between different countries but also different sub-sectors.
The survey of Member States indicated that women now constitute a significant proportion of training staff (30%) among national maritime authorities, as well as diplomatic roles (33%). However, it’s a markedly different picture with regard to women in specialist technical and operational roles (14%), while women seafarers account for a paltry 2% of the entire workforce.
Elpi Petraki, President, WISTA International
It’s the shortage of women in senior technical positions in particular – be they naval architects, inspectors, or surveyors for classification societies – that is a concern for Elpi Petraki, who was appointed President of WISTA International in 2022.
Speaking to The Naval Architect ahead of this year’s International Day for Women in Maritime on 18 May, Petraki believes that although there is a desire among shipping companies to redress the balance, outdated approaches to recruitment and what constitutes suitable experience for these positions is still proving an obstacle.
She explains: “The model in shipping that worked well for many years was based on experience onboard the vessel. It was the captains, chief engineers, electricians who would then move on to manage the different departments within a company. With that in mind they look for others like them who have similar backgrounds. When shipping companies grow towards more of a corporate culture – searching outside that vessel idea – it becomes easier for women to get in.”
Lack of support?
Commendably, in Petraki’s native Greece a high percentage of naval architecture students are now women, a figure that would certainly be the envy of many northern European universities. Petraki herself has pushed for more maritime scholarships to be awarded to female students in her previous role as president of WISTA Hellas. Yet for a variety of reasons few of these progress to take on roles such as a shipping company’s principal naval architect and don’t always receive the support they need.
Petraki notes her own shock when her daughter, a mechanical engineering student, was questioned by teachers on why she wanted to study a traditionally ‘male’ subject. In her previous role as President of WISTA Hellas, she encouraged such initiatives as tours of Greek shipyards for female students so that they can see for themselves the potential opportunities. Increasingly the emphasis is upon ensuring these aren’t empty promises but a genuine commitment to promoting diversity.
“We can’t tell them you can study that and then not have a job for them or discriminate against them. Clearly, the more mixed the working environment, the healthier it is for everyone. By showcasing to people what can be achieved, highlighting role models that have done so, it helps them believe they can do it as well. Meanwhile a mixed environment demonstrates that companies are fully behind diversity in the workplace; whatever the gender, employees just need to be capable and talented.”
Announced this week, IMO and WISTA are conducting the second Women in Maritime survey which will run from September to December – the results for which are due for publication in 2025. “We hope that the new statistics might show some improvement in the last three years in women working in technical roles. This is important, because with the huge decarbonisation challenge ahead, we need all the great minds working toward that.”
A career in shipping
Being herself the daughter of maritime professionals, Petraki says she was drawn to the excitement of the shipping industry from an early age. After studying Maritime Business and Maritime Law in the UK at Plymouth, followed by a Masters’ degree in International Transport and Trade from Guildhall University, she joined short-sea ship owner and operator ENEA Management. Her 26 years with the company have seen her take on a variety of roles before rising to her current position as the company’s chartering and operations manager.
WISTA has been a part of her career from the very beginning. “I met this network of women who inspired me. In those days, often when you attended a conference the only other women you knew were your WISTA fellows – you had someone to relate to. It made me feel capable, secure and allowed me to develop a network of my own, nationally and internationally, that wouldn’t otherwise have been possible. Gradually I started being more involved, first with WISTA Hellas and then WISTA International, and really saw the value of it.”
Petraki stresses she was always treated with respect by her colleagues but that it’s also important to show that you deserve it. Although not an advocate of so-called positive discrimination (whereby underrepresented groups are given preferential treatment when applying for positions) within her own company she has worked hard to create openings for capable women to advance in their professional careers and break through the glass ceiling.
“To give one example, the HSEQ manager at our Piraeus office is a woman. She was an assistant in the technical department, although she didn’t originally study in a technical profession. Now she visits the vessels and interacts with the personnel onboard, giving instructions on what they could do better.”
“When recruiting for our technical department we do try to give opportunities to women but candidates are not always so easily found. There’s clearly a need to make women aware of the opportunities available in technical roles in shipping-related companies. I firmly believe that we need more women onboard vessels and in engine rooms, even if just for a few years of service.
New opportunities
Naturally, during Petraki’s career she’s witnessed huge changes in areas such as ship-shore communications, from the days of the humble telex and GPS tracking to today’s constant exchange of information that has seen many of the operational decision-making taken away from the masters and into the office.
“I think digitalisation has made life easier for all of us. Connectivity is available everywhere and women need that freedom sometimes,” says Petraki. “Technology, whether onboard the vessel or at a shipyard, no longer requires the same physical strength because you have machines doing it for you. There are also far more facilities that can accommodate women; in the past if you were at a port or shipyard you wouldn’t always find an easy accessible toilet. How can you apply for a job where you can’t even go to the bathroom?”
The challenges posed by decarbonisation and digitalisation of the industry, not to mention the regulatory compliance designed to help realise those goals safely and effectively, is levelling up the field with regard to the traditional gender divide. A prime example being the challenge of developing vessels capable of running on alternative fuels and energy sources. It’s something where smaller operators don’t usually have the luxury of making bad investments and need the input of the brightest new talent.
Petraki says: “Every day we’re seeing new ship designs emerging. What will be the alternative fuel onboard a vessel that will make sense in terms of availability? In the Mediterranean we find that LNG is hardly available at all, so how would you fuel that vessel?”
“These new challenges make the shipping industry exciting, whilst ensuring opportunities for new talent, whatever the gender. On behalf of WISTA International, I’m involved with the UN and European taskforces for training the next generation, and hope to help that we don’t make the same mistakes as in the past – and ensure that roles are available for everybody.”
