Challenges Faced by Female Seafarers and Measures to Improve These Challenges - Research Paper Example

Examining Challenges Faced by Female Seafarers and Measures to Improve These Challenges Introduction Women in seafaring make up a small percentage of the global maritime workforce even with significant developments in ship technology which has ensured that seafaring is not as tedious a job as it used to be. However, these women face a myriad of challenges ranging from perceptions that they are not as capable as males in this profession to the often complex legal nature that defines the way in which seafarers work. Just as on land, women in the seafaring profession have to contend with discrimination leading them to largely be employed within the cruise industry or on ships that only fly foreign flags. As a result of the fact that these ships adhere to the maritime laws of the flag they fly under, safety and protection for female seafarers is not always assured. Indeed women employed in these jobs are not only underpaid but do not have sufficient protection against aspects such as discrimination, accidents or crimes that occur at sea. This paper therefore seeks to examine the challenges faced by female seafarers looking at why there are such low numbers of female seafarers in the maritime industry and the challenges that they face in seeking legal redress for their problems. In addition, the paper also looks at the measures that the International Maritime Organisation is putting in place to attract women to in the seafaring profession. Seafaring Defined Refers to the action of either operating a ship or a boat or provides assistance in this task as a crew members in aspects such as operation or maintenance. Seafaring includes military and security guard, maritime personnel as well as recreational sailors (Christodoulou-Vartosi & Pentsov, 2008, p. 25). Seafarers often hold a wide variety of professions as well as ranks which has unique responsibilities that are critical towards ensuring the successful operation of a vessel that is on the sea. Within the ship, the crew is divided into the deck department, the engineering department, stewards department and other departments which include individuals such as pursers, medical doctors, professional nurse as well as hospital corpsman which are considered as administrative positions (Christodoulou-Vartosi & Pentsov, 2008, p. 27). Seafarers often spend long periods of time at sea with many of them being hired for voyages that might last for a number of extended months. They work regardless of the weather condition and it is not unusual for ships to deal with conditions such as fires, explosions or sinking or having to abandon ship if there is a collision (Davies, 2009, p. 17). Seafarers also constantly face the risk of injury or death as a result of falling overboard or from dangers that is linked to operating machinery, carrying heavy loads or cargo that is dangerous. Professional mariners often live in cramped, stark and dangerous conditions at sea and also have to contend with a large degree of isolation. The quick turnaround time significantly limits the free time that they are given ashore; the post 9/11 environment has also imposed heavy restrictions on many ports which translates to a longer time at sea (Davies, 2009, p. 19-20). Why Low Level of Female Participation in Seafaring In the 1980s, the growth of commercial liners as well as an increase in voyages across the Atlantic provided women with their first opportunities to create careers at sea. An increase in the number of poor women who emigrated gave birth to a demand for female staff who would help to guard both their physical as well as moral well being. However, even in this period, women were not welcome on the ships and were subsequently allocated what are seen as women’s roles (Hendrick, 2012, p. 116). Even in the present environment, female seafarers have to deal with a significant amount of discrimination which often begins at training; they often go through more extensive training than their male colleagues expressly to determine whether the doubts they have over the capability of women to deal with the challenges of the sea are indeed true. Even in the instance that they do go though the requisite training, they face a large amount of discrimination from ship owners who are uncomfortable with hiring women (Harrington, 2011, p. 500). Women seafarers are under constant pressure to prove themselves as worthy of their positions by taking on harder or more demanding tasks. Doubtless, men also have to prove themselves when they get onboard a ship; the test they have to go through is often much shorter and easier (Bauer, 2008, p. 645). Consider as an example the fact that as opposed to men, female seafarers often take longer to be accepted by their male colleagues and interact with them on terms that are relatively friendly. Women working in this environment which is predominantly male environment have to face an environment that is hostile have to deal with discrimination, sexual harassment as well as significant levels of bullying and violence. Sexual harassment can range from the mild such as lewd comments or jokes to severe leading up to rape and sexual assault (Klein, 2011, p. 62). In instances where the employers are enlightened about the importance of women working, many appear not to have in place the requisite provisions that relate to both the employment as working conditions for women. Consider as an example when a female seafarer falls pregnant, the usual reaction from a shipping company is either to immediately dismiss or provide these women with alternative employment on shore (Harrison, 2011, p. 166). For some female seafarers discrimination begins as early as the recruitment stage where female applicants are judged based on aspects such as youthfulness as well as beauty. Requirements such as the women should not be aged over 32 years, should stand five feet and six inches and a pleasing personality essentially cut off those who have the requisite experience (Harrison, 2011, p. 168-169). Peculiar Employment Situations of the Seafarers on Vessels Presently, over 90% of global trade is carried out by shipping and this industry is increasingly growing in importance as the world is becoming globalised. However, seafarers still have to contend with at the most sub-standard protections as well as conditions driving their employment (Rothwell & Stephens, 2011, p. 17). This exploitation by employers has increasingly been facilitated by a maritime system that is still reliant on a maritime system that still adheres to an old principle of jurisdiction as well as an international labor system that is lacking in clarity and potential for enforcement. In the middle of the Twentieth Century, the large majority of the glob’s seafarers were represented by the flags under which their ships were registered in (Rothwell & Stephens, 2011, p. 20-21). This system lacked universality and led to large amounts of confusion as well as inconsistencies. The complexities that have accompanied increased globalisation have also brought with them a distinct exploitation of the traditional rules of jurisdiction that characterize maritime law with many companies often seeking to register their vessels under the flag of a State which has labor requirements that are either poor or nonexistent(Zwinge, 2011, p.301). This is done in an effort to cut back on operational costs and therefore gaining a distinct economic advantage over their competitors. This often creates a negative environment for the seafarer who has to deal with substandard living as well as working conditions while on board. In much the same way that labor abuse is carried out within a supply chain, the fact that shipping companies are often willing to register their flags in an attempt to benefit them is one of the clearest symbols of the failure of laws within the maritime industry (Zwinge, 2011, p. 303). Seafarers can be a subject of much confusion over which law applies to them when one considers that they might be of a different state from that which the ship they work in is from. This confusion is further compounded by the fact that labor rights as well as protections touching on seafarers are often spread out across a wide spectrum of international laws while laws that touch on the sea and the operations of shipping companies are contained within another set of laws (Davies, 2009, p. 28). Consider as an example the confusion that often meets female seafarers when they have to contend with reporting instances of sexual assault or harassment. Ideally all the personnel who are sailing within a vessel that has been internationally registered must adhere to the laws that govern the state under whose flag they fly, which in this instance refers to the country where the ship was registered (Davies, 2009, p. 30-31). The master of the ship holds the responsibility of ensuring that these laws are upheld and while some countries do contain within their laws some form of protection against rape, not all of them will provide protection to the victim (Harrington, 2011, p. 503). In many instances, it often falls to the master to ensure that he creates a work environment that is free of harassment and that is characterized by quick resolution to problems. Female seafarers will also find that even though some shipping companies do have in place policies that relate to discrimination as well as sexual harassment and they will have set up procedures to adequately deal with the complaints, many captains will be reluctant if not unwilling to take any type of action (Harrington, 2011, p. 505). In many circumstances, the local police do not wish to get involved in pursuing a sexual assault case that has occurred on a ship under a foreign flag. Without the support of a trade union, female seafarers find that they have little in the way of protection from discrimination and sexual harassment (Bauer, 2008, p. 648). This was evident in June 2010, when South African cadet Akhona Geveza was found dead in Croatian waters near the British flagged Safmarine Kariba amid claims that she had died just hours after reporting being raped by a Ukrainian chief officer. While a brief investigation was carried out by the Croatian authorities, it suggested suicide and did little to indicate allegations of both bullying as well as sexual harassment that were ongoing within the ship (Harrison, 2011, p. 172). Women seafarers also face discrimination with regard to assignment to either reproductive or nurturing roles where they receive little pay. More importantly, those who are unskilled are unable to complain since the salaries that they are paid are not covered by such international labor bodies as the International Labour Organisation (Rothwell & Stephens, 2011, p. 23). According to the guidelines that are set by the International Transport Workers Federation, in the event that a pregnant seas farer finds herself sailing under the flag of her own country, she is entitled to be covered by the legislation of her country regarding aspects such as maternity leave and compensation; however many do not get these benefits as the maternity benefits of a flag of convenience present complexity and are often not enforced (Rothwell & Stephens, 2011, p. 25). How can measures by the ILO, in particular, the Maritime Labor Convention provide relief to seafarer, and by extension serve as a magnet to attract more women into seafaring? The International Maritime Organisation works to ensure promotion of a safe, secure and sound shipping environment. In this regard, the organisation is in the process of putting in place a universal as well as uniform application of the international law in order to enhance on the working conditions for all seafarers (Hendrick, 2012, p. 120). Under its mission, the core approach is to enable the integration of women into the maritime sector which it has been doing in an effort to move on from the perception that the maritime sector is only a male sector and therefore enabling these women to achieve the requisite representation that is more aligned for expectations in this century (Hendrick, 2012, p. 121). As a result of its efforts, a number of measures have been put in place in order to ensure an improvement in the rights that women enjoy and they include a bridging of the gap that is present between women and men who hold critical maritime jobs such as officer. Presently, there are only about 7% of female seafarers who have been appointed as officers as opposed to 51% of the males (Davies, 2009, p. 33). This is in spite of the fact that well over 93% of the female seafarers have been taken through constant evaluations opposed to only about 41% of the men who are a part of the seafaring profession. The International Maritime Organisation is also agitating for better representation of women in the trade unions catering to seafarers and more open access to facilities such as contraception, medical assistance while on board as well as when the ship docks(Davies, 2009, p. 34). The Maritime Labour Convention is focused on bring together international organisations as well as organisations of ship owners in order to ensure that the amounts of discrimination that occur between men and women is distinctly lowered. In this regard, it sets out the conditions of employment for seafarers including protection of their health, their welfare and their social security. Among this is the recruitment services that are encouraged to have in place including clearly laid out procedures in case of complaint and those dealing with registration (Harrington, 2011, p. 507). This convention places special emphasis on the fact that contracts should be legally binding documents which will help to provide female seafarers with the requisite protection in case of sexual harassment and discrimination. Moreover, there are efforts to deal with the cases of sexual harassment and subsequently strengthen the overall safety of female seafarers while they are on board. These aspects are especially important since issues of women’s safety as well as their rights are a constant source of debate and therefore making improvements will make this profession more attractive (Harrington, 2011, p 508). The International Maritime Organisation recognizes the need to ensure that new strategies are developed in order to strengthen the role that women play in the maritime sector. This has been done through the setting up of conferences where women seafarers come together and share their experiences which creates chances for strong leadership, mentoring as well as opportunities for networking (Harrison, 2011, p. 175). Female seafarers are therefore able to take full advantage of chances within the maritime sector and more importantly helps in the promotion of discussions that touch on increasing on investment for both education as well as training. Since 1988, IMO has been instrumental in strengthening the continued integration into the maritime sector (Harrison, 2011, p. 176-177). For instance it has provided support to female seafarers to ensure that they are able to actively develop leadership skills. In this way, women in this industry can have greater confidence with regard to targeting managerial as well as leadership positions in the shipping industry (Zwinge, 2011, p. 310). This is a way in which the perceptions of the shipping industry being a male dominated industry can be removed. These perceptions and assumptions often have a negative impact on both employment as well as promotion of women within the shipping industry. By changing the organisational structure, the organization hopes to be able to encourage women to integrate themselves into the maritime industry (Zwinge, 2011, p. 311). Female seafarers often face numerous barriers with regard to development of their careers having to deal with challenges such as a distinct lack of information regarding their jobs, little or no funding to carry out further studies and the argument that working on shore often requires relocation (Davies, 2009, p. 34). What this brings is large expenses and stress with regard to adapting to new cultures and a lack of recognition from the colleagues they have outside the ship. In addition, the lack of efficient internet access still presents a major problem for the industry which has created a situation where relations between the female seafarer, her family and friends are strained. In addition, the lack of internet access also acts as a barrier towards enhancing career advancement and development (Davies, 2009, p. 35). In this regard, the International Maritime Organisation has put in place measures to ensure the addition of funding aimed at increasing on career mobility as well as development is pushed for all maritime professionals but most especially for women. In this way, the organisation aims at enhancing on the ability of women to be employed within the maritime sector in a period when there is a distinct shortage in the world of competent seafarers (Hendrick, 2012, p. 124). In addition, policies and programs have also been put in place to enhance development of careers for women. Gender based discrimination in selection of leadership in an organisation is often a great challenge. However, the increase in the number of mergers as well as partnerships and the growing global reach of the maritime sector are ensuring that more people from different parts of the world from distinct cultures continue to meet (Hendrick, 2012, p. 125-126). Within a maritime context, inclusion of women is seen as an effort towards the creation of a workforce that is more diverse which translates to a bigger talent pool for leadership and managerial positions and this is another aspect where the International Maritime Organisation(Christodoulou-Vartosi & Pentsov, 2008, p. 30). It is advocating for the use of quotas in order to ensure that the number of women who have the chance to ascend to senior leadership positions is increased. This is to be done side by side with gender integration into managerial positions, a responsibility which is being talked to human resource departments (Christodoulou-Vartosi & Pentsov, 2008, p. 31). The organisation urges shipping companies to send a strong and distinct message down and up the employee ladder that there can be no room for any type of gender based discrimination. In this way, the organisation hopes, perceptions of how some positions can only be carried out by male seafarers will be eliminated and subsequently increase on the confidence of women with regard to the manner in which they carry out their jobs(Bauer, 2008, p. 652). The organisation is striving to ensure that women seafarers come to the realization that they are a critical part of ensuring the shipping industry remains sustainable. Using global standards as the STCW 95 Convention and its amendments, the orgnisation hopes to enhance on the quality of training that is provided to female seafarers. This is especially important when one considers that presently, the large majority of female seafarers have skills that are not aligned to enable them effectively meet both current as well as future needs (Bauer, 2008, p. 653-654). In this regard, measures are being put in place to ensure that women are actively involved in maritime clusters not only globally but also nationally and regionally. By taking part in creating and developing human resource development plans, these seafarers can be provided with the requisite complementary as well as cohesive educational information that is aligned to present needs of the industry(Klein, 2011, p. 66-68). Conclusion Even though the shipping industry is responsible for the large majority of the world’s trade, women still continue to be underrepresented an aspect that is attributed to discrimination, sexual harassment and overall perception that this is a man’s job. This aspect is made even more challenging by the peculiarities that characterize the employment of a sea farer who often works for a ship that is under a flag from another state. In the event that sexual harassment or assault occurs, female seafarers find that they have little legal recourse; the master of the ship who is expected to enforce the rules of the flag they are under often does little and local police are unwilling to investigate cases that occurred on a foreign ship. However, the International Maritime Organisation is striving to ensure that it puts in place measures such as a focus on gender integration and high quality of training to ensure that female seafarers have as fair a chance as their male colleagues. References Christodoulou-Vartosi, I., & Pentsov, D.2008. Maritime Work Law Fundamentals: Responsible Ship-owners, Reliable Seafarers. Berlin: Springer-Verlay. Hendrick, F.2012.Foundations and Functions of Contemporary Labour Law, European Law Journal, 108(3), pp. 116-126 Davies, A. 2009. Perspectives on Labour Law. (2nd Ed). London: Cambridge University Press. Harrington, A. 2011. Corporate Social Responsibility, Globalization, the Multinational Corporation, and Labor: An Unlikely Alliance, Alb. Law Review, 75, pp.500-510 Bauer, P.2008. An Adequate Guarantee? Chi. J Intl. Law, 8. Pp. 645-654 Klein, N.2011. Maritime Security and the Law of the Sea. London: Oxford University Press. Harrison, J. 2011. Making the Law of the Sea: A Study in the Development of International Law. London: Cambridge University Press. Rothwell, D., & Stephens, T. 2011. The International Law of the Sea. New York: Hart Publishing. Zwinge, T. 2011. Duties of Flag States to Implement and Enforce International Standards and Regulations – And Measures to Counter Their Failure to do so, J Intl Bus. & Law, 10, pp. 301-310 Read More