What's it like being a female cadet?

We hear so much about shipping being a male-dominated industry, especially at sea - does this translate to being a hostile environment for women to work? 

The Seafarers’ Happiness Index has found that, though women made up only a small percentage of those surveyed, female seafarers posted higher average happiness levels than their male counterparts. Does this sample represent the wider workforce?

To coincide with International Women's Day, we asked female seafarers old and new to tell us what it's really like to work at sea. The result will be highlighted in a series of articles, beginning with this one in which we spoke to cadets. 

We also asked our seafarers what advice they would give to any women who were thinking of getting a job at sea. Their responses, at the end of this article, are telling. 

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Christy, aged 25, is a cadet in third phase, who has been on ship for five and a half months. Her father was a skipper for 25 years – Christy says he didn’t want her to do this job, but she’s in it for the long haul.

“A lot of sailors, especially women, tend to end up transferring to a shore-side job. Part of the reason I’d like to be a Master is because I do not know any female Masters and I think that it’s a shame,” she says. 

“Realistically, companies are wary of taking a female when she is likely to be the only female on board. This is especially prevalent when the majority of the crew may be from a culture where women are not treated as competent in this kind of industry. With the recent news in Hollywood, there is the idea of a ‘witch hunt’ wherein some bosses may feel they can get into trouble,” Christy explains. 

“I think it’s important for everyone to remember that you only get in trouble if you have done something wrong and it is grossly unfair to not want female employees because they may report sexual misconduct rather than instead not wanting any employee who would be guilty of sexual misconduct,” she says.

“I have been very fortunate in that everyone on my ship was supportive and treated me well, so it was not malicious. It just took a lot longer for the deck department to be comfortable with me doing hard jobs than it would with a male cadet. I wasn’t ever too concerned by that, as I knew they were just trying to look out for me,” says Christy.

“I know that in my career it’s likely I will come across people treating me differently in a way that is unacceptable, but the vast majority of people at sea now will, I hope, be like the crew I have already worked with.”

“I find this job is a very big learning experience about myself but also with meeting new peers,” says Lisa, 19, a Phase 1 SPD deck cadet, who is sponsored by the MEF and is studying at City of Glasgow Riverside Campus.

“People come from so many different walks of life and to understand how other people live and to get involved with their interests is very rewarding,” she says.

Lisa aims to qualify as a third officer after finishing her cadetship. Like Christy, she wants to get her Master’s certificate.

“If I have a positive attitude and the mentality to progress then I don’t see gender as a challenge,” Lisa says.

“Sometimes people may not believe you are capable to be in this profession and that as a woman you are too weak or don’t have the mentality to carry out this job,” she continues. “I find the best response in this case is to prove whoever doubts you wrong. 

“Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses and it doesn’t matter whether you’re a male or female as we are all here to work as a team.”

Lynsey, a 20-year-old deck cadet, is currently serving her last trip at sea with two weeks to go on an offshore support vessel, before she heads back to college on the Shetland Isles to finish her studies and sit her final exams.

She says a career at sea seemed inevitable because her family members had been telling her of their stories at sea since she was young.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of my training so far and I cannot wait until I'm sailing as a qualified officer!” Lynsey says. She hopes to gain her OOW later this year and aims to work her way up to reach Master.

“Being a woman at sea, I have experienced some crew members making comments, but these are few and far between and you just learn to shrug it off,” she says. 

Santa, 29, had already spent some time working on ships before she began training to be a deck officer in 2016. She first went to sea in 2008, working in catering, and has recently achieved her HNC in Fleetwood Nautical College. 

“This career never stops and there always will be higher goals to be achieved and progress towards to, be it at sea or shore side eventually,” Santa says. She is currently completing her last sea phase and aims to become a competent deck officer and ultimately qualify as Chief Officer.

"It can be a little challenging from beginning as the industry is still dominated by men, and I guess the job is thought to be quite technical and physically challenging sometimes,” Santa says of what it’s like to be a woman working at sea. “However, once I have shown my ability to perform the job as expected, there have been no issues.”

N, who wished to remain anonymous, is a 34-year-old Phase 3 Deck Cadet and had a somewhat unusual start to her career at sea....

Read the rest of this story on the UK Chamber of Shipping's website.