This year’s International Day for Women in Maritime is observed under the theme An Ocean of Opportunities for Women.
Women currently represent less than 2% of the global crewing workforce and less than 20% of the maritime workforce onshore. The figures have barely moved in decades.
At Maridive, nearly fifty percent of board seats are held by women, including the Chairwoman. That perspective shapes how the company sees this conversation. As shahira zeid puts it: “The conversation around women in maritime often focuses on barriers. But in reality, relatively few women choose to enter this industry in the first place. In my view, meaningful change will come when that choice changes.”
That choice is shaped by what the industry looks like from the outside and who is visible within it. The women who have built careers in maritime have done so on one basis alone, as Shahira describes it: “Operational competence, consistency, resilience, and the ability to deliver under pressure. That is the only foundation worth building on.”
Until more women see that foundation as one worth choosing, the numbers will remain what they are. What may shift over time is visibility. And visibility, quietly, changes choices.
To the women working across maritime and offshore today, they entered an industry where they were often the exception. That still counts for something.
On the occasion of the International Day for Women in Maritime, Maridive acknowledges them.