Raising Awareness About Women in Turkish Maritime Industry · contribution to the Turkish maritime...

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JournalofETAMaritimeScienceSenbursa&Ozdemir/JEMS, 2020;8(3):194-209

10.5505/jems.2020.41275

Raising Awareness About Women in Turkish Maritime Industry

Nihan ŞENBURSA1, Pınar ÖZDEMİR2

1OrduUniversity,FatsaFacultyofMarineSciences,Turkey2PiriReisUniversity,MaritimeHigherVocationalSchool,Turkey

[email protected]; ORCIDID:https://orcid.org/[email protected];ORCIDID:https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9878-8139

CorrespondingAuthor:NihanSENBURSA

ABSTRACT

Themaritimesectorismale-dominated.Womenworkinginthissectorfacethechallengesof not only working in a male-dominated working environment but also being at sea,far from their home and families for a long time. Moreover, they struggle with manymisperceptionsandprejudiceagainst them. In this study, suchnegative feelingsagainstwomenintheTurkishmaritimesectorareexaminedthoroughly,andtheeliminationwaysofthemareexamined.Thedatainthisresearchhavecollectedbyemployingsurveyandstructured interviewmethods.After evaluation, themain stakeholderswhohave a roleinbuildingcareerpathof thewomeninmaritimeindustryaredeterminedasbeingthewomenthemselves,theirmalecolleagues,families,educationinstitutions,andemployersinthesector.Inconclusion,therolesofthesestakeholdersineliminatingnegativeattitudestowardswomenarediscussed.

Keywords

Maritime,Women,Misperception,Prejudice,Stakeholders.

ORIGINALRESEARCH(AR)Received: 04 February 2020 Accepted: 15 September 2020

To cite this article:Senbursa,N.&Ozdemir,P.(2020).RaisingAwarenessAboutWomeninTurkishMaritimeIndustry.Journal of ETA Maritime Science,8(3),194-209.To link to this article: https://dx.doi.org/10.5505/jems.2020.41275

1. IntroductionResearch shows that women working

in male-dominated sectors have someproblems that are different from those ofother working women [1]. Maritime is amale-dominatedsectorwherewomenmayfaceuniqueproblemsbecausetheynotonlyworkinamale-dominatedenvironmentbutalso livethere,andtheyare far fromtheirfamilies and home for extended periods.Therefore, it is commonly observed thatthey have some problems particular tothis sector; however, these problemshave

been ignored for a long time. It was onlywhenmoremaritimeschoolsopenedtheirdoorstofemalestudentsandmorewomenbegan to be employed in the sector thatresearchers began to study what theirproblemsareandhowtheycanbesolved.Thenumberoffemalestudentsinmaritime-related departments is still considerablylimited. That means female cadets gofrommale-dominatedclassroomstomale-dominated workplaces. In other words,they start to experience the challenges ofmale-dominated working environment as

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© UCTEA The Chamber of Marine Engineers Journal of ETA Maritime Science

earlyastheystartuniversityeducation[2].Thissituationmaycauseseveralproblems,andsomethingshouldbedonetohelpthemwith their fight against all these potentialproblems like discrimination, bullying,or harassment. Thus they can actualizethemselves and maritime industry canbenefit fromall theycancontribute to thesector.

2. Literature Review2.1. Global Approaches To Women

In1988,thesupportoftheInternationalMaritime Organization’s (IMO) strategyfor the integration of women into themaritime industry, and the following year,the implementation of IMO Women inDevelopment Program, accelerated theadmittanceofwomentothemaritimeworld[3].Intoday’sworld,similarapproachesstillareperformedbytheIMOandinternationalnongovernmental organizations such asUnited Nations, Global Fund for Women,and The Association for Women's Rightsin Development. IMO Secretary-GeneralKitack Lim emphasizes the importanceand urgency of the realization of the UNSustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5:Gender equality in the shipping industry[4].WithinthescopeofSDG5,IMOkeepsitscommitmenttoachievegenderequalitynotonly at seabutalsoonshore jobsbyadopting "Achieve gender equality andempowerallwomenandgirls”[5].

Supporting women in the maritimeindustry and increasing womenemployment both working onboard asseafarers and onshore in managerialpositions as maritime professionalsshall only be provided by implementingnew approaches to maritime sectordynamics. Encouragement ofwomen canbe sustained by discovering two pioneeraspects: 1) by enabling their attainmentto the essential education and theirparticipation to the labor force, and 2)by supporting them both at entry-level

positions and any stage of their career[6].Womenhaveadvancedanalyticalandmultitasking skills which are demandedbyshippingcompanies[7].Thepreferenceof women employment in the maritimesector shows concrete results. Accordingto the McKinsey Report (2018), thecompaniesinthetop-quartileintermsofgender diversity, which executive teamsalso consist of women were 21% morelikely to outperform on profitability and27% more likely to have superior valuecreation [8]. Therefore, the report’sresults showed that companies that hadgreat performance on both profitabilityanddiversityhadmorewomeninline(forexample,income-generating)rolesthaninstaffrolesontheirexecutiveteams.Inthemaritimeindustry,ifwomenaretriggeredand pulled to the maritime sector aspart of a diverse maritime workforce,wider opportunities for women willbe suitable both at leadership andmanagerialpositionswhichisabenefitinacompetitivemarketlikemaritime[9].

According to the International LaborOrganization’s Report (2019), shareof women in managerial positions byregion, between the years 1991–2018is as following: world’s average 27.1%,Americas 39%, Europe and Central Asia34.4 %, Asia and The Pacific 22.5 %,Africa 20.3 %, Arab States 11.1 % [10].However, the number of women whoare in managerial positions and in chaircompanyboardsisstilllimited.Theshareofwomensittingoncompanyboards,from2010–2016variesfrom0%inGermanyto4.6%intheUnitedStates,whichshowedthat glass disparity needs both in theinternationalandnationalarena[11].Sincemaritime women’s contribution to themaritimesectorhasbeenunderestimated,women at managerial positions haven’thadachancetoconfute.Therefore,raisingawarenessofthesuccessofwomeninthemaritimeindustrywasnotsufficient[12].

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2.2. A Global View of Maritime Women in Recent Years

The obstacles for maritime womenarenot the sameas theywere sixtyyearsago. Thanks to the battlewonby the firstwomen seafarers in history, in today’sworld, maritime women can access tomany maritime institutions. As stated inWorld Economic Forum’s Global GenderGapReport2020,amongNordiccountries,Swedenisholdingthehighestrecord,with15.7% of female graduates from Science,Technology, Engineering andMathematics(STEM) programs [13]. In order to createmoreawareness,itisimportanttopromoteand introduce maritime fields and oceansciences(inthefieldsofscience,technology,engineering, andmathematics (STEM)) tomorewomen and girls in their early ages[14]. In recent years, regardless of theirsex,maritimestudents(especiallystudyingdeck and engine departments) have hadseriousproblemswith finding internshipsonboard both in theworld and in Turkey.According to the survey held by Ghosh &Bowles(2013)amongAustralianMaritimeEducationandTraining(MET)Institutions,theresultsreconfirmedthesestrugglesonfinding suitable cadetship onboard [15].Thestruggle starts fromtheir studentshipcadetprogramonboard.

Froman industrialperspective, it isanundeniable fact that struggles, problems,and bad experiences that maritimecompanies encounter in terms of womenseafarers and women holding managerialpositions have a butterfly effect on theapproach of maritime entities [16]. Theprejudices of ship owners and maritimecompanies set a big challenge for youngladieswhichmakethemfeeldiscriminatedatthebeginningoftheirprofessionallife.

Inthetransportsector,aswellasinthemaritime sector, women are consideredincapable and weak both physically andmentally. Stereotypes about women inthe transport sectormayendupwith low

demand of female community. Therefore;employmentandtrainingproblemsbecomemore difficult for female students andwomeninScience,Technology,Engineeringand Mathematics (STEM) fields [17]. It isa crucial fact that ship owners should beencouragedtogivingequalopportunitiestoaccept female cadets onboard consideringthe importance of this process in havingexperience in the field . Some maritimecompanieshavealreadystartedtosupportmaritime women and give them fairchances to show their skills andabilities .Thesecompaniescooperatewithmaritimeeducation and training (MET) institutionsto employ current cadets meaning futureofficers[18].

2.3. The Admission of Women to Maritime Colleges

Until the late 1970s, many womenseafarerswerefacingbarriersinacceptancetothemaritimeinstitutions,andmaritimeschools’criteria,mostlyaimedatsupportingmen. However, the acceptance of womento the maritime faculties and maritimeeducation and training institutions datesbacktothe1970’sintheworld[19].Someexamplesofwomenadmissiondatestothecollegesareasfollowing:1920’sinRussia,1950’sinChina,1970’sintheUSA,Sweden,Portugal,Ghana[19];1990’sinTurkey[20]andChile[21].ForthefirsttimeinTurkey’shistory,intheacademicyearof1991/1992,IstanbulUniversity,FacultyofEngineering,Department of Maritime TransportManagementEngineeringstartedtoacceptfemalestudents(totalquotaof26students).After this, in order to provide academicproficiency of maritime women, in 1997DokuzEylulUniversity,SchoolofMaritimeBusiness and Management, in 1999Istanbul Technical University MaritimeFacultyandNearEastUniversityMaritimeFaculty, and in 2001 Karadeniz TechnicalUniversity Surmene Faculty of MarineSciencesfollowedthisapproachforwomen

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seafarers. Henceforth, as trickle-downeffect, manymaritime schools in Turkeyhave opened its doors to female students[20].Thankstothesesuccessfulinitiatives,intheprocessoftime,theambitioninsidethe first women officers made themwarriorsoftheoceansandhelpedthemtobecome the first womenMasterMarinersinTurkey.Thepathtosuccesswasnoteasy.This struggle for existence in their careerwastorefuteagainstbias[21].

3. MethodTheaimofthisstudyistodeterminethe

factors preventing awareness of women’scontributiontotheTurkishmaritimesectorandtodiscussthewaystoimprovethem.

To this end, two methods were usedto obtain the data. Firstly, a 11-statementsurvey aiming to question the awarenessforwomen’s contribution to themaritimesector was prepared and given to all thestakeholders,suchasbothmenandwomenseafarers, employers, ship owners, peopleworking in maritime companies, andmaritimeentrepreneurs in the sector.Thefirst two statements in the survey werequestions while the rest nine statementswere propositions. The first question ofthesurveywasademographicquestiontolearnthegenderof therespondentswhiletheotherswerethosepreparedtoseetheirperceptionsofwomeninthesector,tolearnthe problems women face and to studythe ways to solve them. The survey wasrespondedby657peoplefromthemaritimesector.Sincethefirstquestion,whichaskedthe gender of the respondents, was leftblank by some respondents, it was notpossibletosayhowmanywomenandhowmanymenparticipated in thesurvey.Thisisalimitationoftheresearch.However,thegenderdistributionoftherespondentscanroughlybeestimatedtakingthepercentageofthosewhorespondedtothefirstquestionintoconsideration.Among657peoplewhojoinedthesurvey,185peopleansweredthe

firstquestion.38,4%oftheserespondentswerewomen(71)and61,6%ofthemweremen(114).ThesurveywasgiveninSurveyMonkey and the choiceswere categorizedas"Yes","No"and"Maybe".

Thesecondmethodusedintheresearchwas the structured interview methodwhich was conducted with 48 people, 22of whom are women. The intervieweeswere from different positions in thesector.Mostof themwereseafarers.Someof the rest were employers while somewere just company workers at differentpositions.Allmale interviewershad someexperience of working with women. Eachinterview took approximately 20 minutessince 11 questions were asked and somedetailed responses were expected. Someinterviewees gave short answers whilesomeofthemgavedetailedanswerswhichincluded their own experiences. We tooknotes during the interviews, and after allthe interviewswere finished,weused thedata we obtained in the comments andexplanationpartsofeachquestion.Itisalsoused to support the findings part of thispaper.Thequestionswereclearandeasytounderstandandanswer,sotheintervieweesdidn’tcomeupwithsomeissueswhichmaystirethicalconcerns.Duringtheinterviews,whichwere face to face,weobserved thatsome of the interviewees were hesitantto clearly express their opinion for fearof offending the interviewers, who arewomen. This was another limitation thatwetriedtoovercomebyassuringthemthattheir names wouldn’t be revealed in thestudyand that thiswasscientificresearchwhich required correct answers. Theinterviewerswerefromdifferentpositionsinthesector.Mostofthemwereseafarers.Somewereemployerswhilesomewerejustcompanyworkersatdifferentpositions.Allmale interviewers had some experienceof working with women. Each interviewtook about 20 minutes on average since10 questions were asked and some

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detailed responses were expected. Someinterviewees gave short answers whilesomeofthemgavedetailedanswerswhichincluded their own experiences. We tooknotes during the interviews, and after allthe interviews were finished, we usedthe data obtained through the commentsand explanation parts of each question. Itis also used to support the findings partof this study. The questions were cleareasy tounderstand and answer, so issues,whichmightstirethicalconcerns,werenotemergedbyinterviewees.

4. FindingsIn the following part, each question in

thesurvey,thenumberof itsrespondents,andthepercentagesoftheoptionschosenaregiventogetherwiththeresponsesinthestructuredinterview.

1. Do you think that the maritime industry is known enough in Turkey? Do you think necessary and promotional activities for the development of maritime culture in our country are carried out?

78% percent of 651 respondents whoanswered this question gave a negativeanswerwhile only 11% replied positively.11% of the respondents had either noidea or did notwant to comment on this.That result indicates that many of therespondents think thatmaritime industryis not well-known sector in Turkey.Interviews made on this subject indicatethattheparticipantsthinkthatTurkeyhasabigpotential in themaritime sector, butcannotmakeuseofitmuchenoughandthepromotionof themaritimesector ismadeby the maritime schools only. They alsoexpressthatthecadetswhoprefertogototheseschoolsusuallycomefromthecoastalareas. Besides the respondents who saythere isaslight increase in thenumberofpeopleprefertoworkinthemaritimesectordespite very limited promotion activities,therearethosewhoclaimmaritimecultureisgettinglostdaybyday. Moreover,some

respondents think the maritime sector isunder the control of the wealthy peopleonly. One of the interviewees said, ”Onlythe richpeople can takepart in sea-goingactivities. Since it requires a lot ofmoney,thepoorpeoplecannotparticipateinthese,even if they want to. It is too expensive.”Consequently, it is seen that the vastmajorityofrespondentsthinkthemaritimesector is not well-known in Turkey andpromotionalactivitiesforthedevelopmentofmaritimecultureinourcountryarenotcarriedout.

2. Is maritime business specific to men?28%oftherespondentsgaveapositive

answer to this question contrary to the65% who gave a negative answer. 7% ofthemwere indecisive. These figures showthat maritime is not seen as a men's job.However,thefactthattherearealotmoremeninthesectorthanwomenshowsthatwomen don't prefer this job. Statisticsshowthatthepercentageofwomeninthesectorisabout1-2%[22].

The data obtained from interviewsprovethatthereisanegativeperceptionforwomeninthesector.Althoughthesuccessof women in the sector is an importantfactortoeliminatethisperception,therearenotmanygoodrolemodelssincetherearenotmanywomeninthesector.Thosewhoclaimthatmaritimeisspecifictomensaythat technologicaldevelopmentseliminatethe differences deriving from gender, butactually, theydonot proveuseful becausethey do not change the fact that womenare more vulnerable than men, but someinterviewees have pointed on somethingthatcanbechanged.Theysaid“Itmaybehardatthebeginning,butthewomenwhoreally want to work in this sector will bepersistentandshewillbeabletodomostthingsthatshecouldnotdoatthebeginningbecause of not being as strong as men.Exerciseandhardworkwillhelpwomentohaveastrongandenduringbody.”Anotherintervieweesaid“Theeffectsofmenstrual


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cycle on the physical working capacity ofwomenareclear.Somemenusethisasanexcusenottoemploywomenonboard.Theyknowthisisatemporarysituation,buttheydo not want to accept this.” Another oneadvised, “On-the-job training emphasizingthe benefits of women onboard may behelpful formentoacceptwomenasequalcolleagues onboard.” Despite all thesenegative perceptions, the statement thatthemaritimesectorisnotunderthecontrol

(a)

Figure 1. Percentage of replies for questions 1(a) and 2 (b)

(b)

ofmenisacceptedbyamajorityashighas65%,whichisagoodsignfortheexistenceofwomeninthesector.

3. Due to the physiological structure of women, that is because of the physical aspects of them, it is difficult to work at sea and onboard for her.

15% of the participants have no ideaaboutthistopic.Halfoftherestagreewiththestatementabovewhiletheotherhalfdon't.Maritime,whichhas longbeen thought tobemoresuitableformen[23],hasstartedtogetridofthisprejudicebydigitalizationandtechnologicaldevelopments[24].Thatthe percentages of the respondents whoagreeanddonotagreewiththisstatementare close to each other can be seen as animprovement. On the evaluation of thecommentsmadebytheintervieweesonthisstatement, it is seen that the success andefficiencyofthewomenworkingonboardwilldefinitelyeliminatetheprejudices.Oneof the interviewees who is a captain saidthat"Iworkedwithalotoffemaleonboardandwitnessedthattheycreatedapositiveawarenesstoagreatextent".Thestatementprovesthatifpeoplehaveachancetoworkwith women they will appreciate theirpositive contributions to life onboard. Onthe other hand, there are those who saythatprejudiceagainstwomenisveryhardtobreakdownandtherearestillsomejobsthat require physical strength despite theimprovements on the technical field. Thebiggesthandicapsforwomenaboutthisarethe pregnancy and child-bearing. Womenare away from the ship during theseperiodsandcannotgofarawayfromtheirchildren because of maternal obligations.For a woman with children waiting forherathome,goingbackonboardshipandworking as enthusiastically as before areveryhard,ifnotimpossible.

4. In the maritime profession, which is male-dominated, it is difficult for women to exist both onshore and onboard.

52%oftherespondentsagreewiththis

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statementwhile 40% think the opposite.The maritime sector is hard to work in.Seafarersare farawaynotonly fromtheirfamilies and beloved ones for a long timebutalsofromthelandandnormalworkingconditions that a workplace on land canoffertothem.Therefore,workingatsea ishard for anyone,whethermenorwomen.When interviewees' comments on thestatementsaretakenintoconsideration, itis seen that there isnotabigdiscrepancybetween those who accept that workingon the land is as hard as working at seafor women and those who don't acceptthis. Some of the respondents say thatwomenshouldworkontheland,notatsea.However,most of them think thatwomenfacehardnessbothatseaandonlandandthey can overcome all the hardnesswhentheyaresupportedinagoodway.Asoneoftheintervieweesputsit,"Itishardtoworkonboard, but not too hard for women toovercome".Ontheotherhand,inmaritime,likewithallthemen-dominatedjobs,thereis amisperception and negative prejudiceagainst women. What should be done isthat men should be informed about thepositive contributions women can maketothesectorandaccepttheequalityofthetwo genders. Another comment made bytheintervieweesisthatwomenwhochoosetoworkonboardare thosewhohaveself-confidence andwho believe that they cansucceedasmuchasmencan.Womenwiththese characteristics face no problems incoping with the hardships and they canbe role models for the others. It seemsthat most people have firm ideas on theexistenceofwomeninthemaritimesectorsinceonly8%oftherespondentsexpressedtheydidnothaveanyideas.

5. In the maritime sector, efforts should be made to ensure that the number of women employed in management companies and onboard ships could be higher than men in maritime companies. Actions requiring affirmative action, such as a certain quota for

women and a 10% increase in salaries, are necessary to increase women's awareness in the maritime sector.

40%oftherespondentsgaveapositiveanswer,and43%said"no"while17%didnot have an idea on this statement. It isseen that the number of those,who thinkpositivelyaboutthis,arealmostthesameasthosewhothinknegatively.Althoughitmayseem right thatwomen should be given acertainquotabecauseofthehardshipstheyfaceforemploymentinthemaritimesector,itismorelogicaltotakeawaythehardshipspreventing them from achieving thepositions theydeserve rather than to givethemacertainquota.Whenthecommentsfrom the interviewees are reviewed, it isseenthatallocatingaquotatowomenand,especially,givingahighersalarytowomenarereactedveryseverelynotonlybymenbutalsobywomen.Besidesthosewhodefendthat such discrimination will shadow thestruggleofwomenforequality,someclaimthatitwillgetanegativereactionfrommen.Interviewees say that women who reallywant toworkonboardandwhoare readytodothisproperlyareappreciatedbytheircolleagues,buttherearethosewhowanttoabusetheprivilegestheymaygetastheremaybe ineverysociety. Intervieweesalsoexpress that even treating women fairly,let alone positively, will lead to positivedevelopments. However, the increase inthesalary isonepoint thatgets theworstreaction, and there are even those whoclaim that such a behavior can be called“labortheft”.

6. Maritime departments such as Maritime Business Administration, Maritime Transportation and Management Engineering, Naval Engineering, Marine Engineering, etc. can be introduced with the participation of the Academic Staff of Maritime Faculties in high schools.

The vast majority of the participants,that is 80% of them, approved the ideathatthisstatementconveys.Thenumberof


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peoplewhodidnotagreewiththestatementwas as low as 5%while 15% of them didnot have any ideas. The fact that there aremore“YES”answerssignalsthatjobsinthemaritime industry should be introducedbetter to the people. When the commentsfrom the interviewees are taken intoconsideration,itisseenthatthepromotionof these jobs should be made realistically.That is why cadet candidates should beinformedabouttheseschoolsbythosewhohaveexperienceatsea,and,becauseofthis,whocanrevealthenegativesidesofthejobas much as positive sides. Another thingthat is pointed out is that the maritimesector should be promoted to the peoplewhentheyareyoungandreadytolearnandpracticenewthings.As itwasstatedbyaninterviewee"Theearlier is thebetter.Eventhechildrenatprimaryschoolshouldlearnaboutmaritime".Thiswillhelp themmakeaninformedchoicefortheirfuturecareer.

7. Reasons such as marriage and pregnancy cause women to leave the maritime profession early.

Duties like pregnancy and child care,which women undertake because of their

physicalstructure,causean interruption intheirwork-lifenotonlyinmaritimebutalsoinallsectors.Only12%oftherespondentsdonotagreewiththisideawhile63%ofthemthinkwomenleavefromtheirjobsbecauseofthesematernalduties,asFigure2(b)shows.Asforthecommentsfromtheinterviewees,theyshowthatthereisadissidenceonthissubject.Whilesomeofthemindicatethatthisisanaturalperiodthatcanbeexperiencedwithall the jobs, someothers say that thissubjecthassomethingtodowiththechoicesand priorities of women and those whowanttogoonwiththeircareercandothateven when the pregnancy period is overand the children are grown-up enough tostartschool.Oneofthemsays,"Bothparentshaveequalresponsibilityforchildren.Maleseafarersdon'tleavetheirjobbecausetheyhavetolookaftertheirchildren.Itshouldbethesameforthefemalewhoshouldgobackto their job onboard after the children aregrownupenoughtobetakencareofoneoftheparents."What’smore,theyexpressthatsometimes family life and having childrencanalsoaffectmenandcausethemtoleavetheircareersasseafarers.

(a) (b)Figure 2. Percentage of replies for questions 6 (a) and 7 (b)

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8. Women's analytical and organizational skills are better than men.

Responses given to this statementshow that the participants have theperception that the dominancy of somecharacteristicschangesbygender,andtheythinkthatwomenhavebetteranalyticandorganizationalabilities.Ontheotherhand,interviewees emphasize that such kindof characteristics do not have anythingto dowith the gender butwith the socialand educational background, with thewayapersonisraised,orwithwhetherornot he has practical intelligence. Despitethis, if the facts that thesurveywas takenby the people in the maritime sectorand responses are based on their ownexperiences and observations are takeninto consideration, it can be said that theideawhichthestatementconveysiscorrecttoalimiteddegree.Anotherpointsignalingthis is the discrepancy between positiveandnegativeresponses,whichare45%and27%respectively.Ontheotherhand,28%of the respondents say that they have noidea.Thisisaportionwhichisclosetotheportionofthosewhothinkthatwomenarenotbetterthanmenregardingthoseskills.Basedonthis,itispossibletosaythatmostpeople in the sector think that women inthemaritime sectorhavebetter analyticalandorganizationalskillsthanmen.

9. Working in the maritime sector as a ship owner, port, shipyard, broker, freight forwarder is easier for women than working at sea.

Avastmajorityoftherespondents,thatis69%,agreewiththisidea.12%ofthemdonotagreewhile19%express that theydonothaveanidea.Thosewithnoideaonthisstatement aremore than thosewho don'tthink the statement is right. Intervieweesbelievethatworkinginthesefieldsiseasynotonlyforwomenbutalsoformen.Someof them comment on the statement bybearingthefactinmindthateveryjobhasitsownhardshipsandresponsibilitiesand

they express that the field towork in is amatter of preference and because peopledowhattheylikeeasily,workingatsea,thatisdoingtheworktheylike,isnothardforthem.Oneofthemsays,"Itmaychangefromculturetoculture,butinourculture,womenshouldbeathomeearlyintheeveningforapeacefullifeathome",emphasizingthefactthatculturalvaluesmaybeeffectiveforthecareerofwomen.

10. Negative experiences of women sailors on board (such as accidents, psychological pressure, mobbing, emotional intimacy, extreme emotionality etc.) have a negative effect on ship owners' prejudice regarding female seafarers' employment and the employment of female seafarers on board.

Figure 3. Percentage of replies for questions 9 (a) and 10 (b)

(a)

(b)


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As Figure 3 (b) shows, the percentageof the respondents who agreed with thisstatement is strikingly high (71%). Thissignals the fact that women face a greatamountofprejudiceandthereisalongwaytogointhemaritimesectortobreakdownthis.Itisseenthatnotonlywomenbutalsomen agree with the idea this statementconveys and they think such behaviorsprevent women from being assigned inmaritime jobs. But some comments fromthe interviewees show that the hardshipsin question are experienced by not onlywomen but also men and these are validnotonlyinmaritimebutalsoinotherjobs.Whilewomenclaimthatpeoplepushthemaroundonpurposeandmenarepreferredby the employers especially for seagoingjobs,men claim that is not the case. Theysaywomendonotworkatseajustbecausetheydon'twanttoandtheyshouldn'tlookforsomeoneresponsibleforthis.

Analysis of FindingsData obtained from the survey and

interviews prove that there is a problemofperceptiontowardswomeninmaritimesector. This paper looks at this problemfrom the viewpoints of the stakeholdersand states what can be done by each ofthemtoeradicateit.

As a result of the research, it is foundthatalthoughwomenseafarersliketheirjobandtheywanttoworkatsea,prejudiceinsocietyandmisperceptionsofstakeholdersabout women in the sector prevent themfrom reaching their goal. To prevent thisandtohelpwomeninachievingtheirgoal,all the stakeholders, who are the womenthemselves, the men working with them,familieswhicharethebasicbuildingblocksofsociety,maritimeeducationinstitutions,andemployersinthesector,areexpectedtodo something. By using the data obtainedthroughthesurveyandtheinterviews,whatthestakeholdersareanticipatedtodointheprocessofeliminatingmisperceptionsand

prejudice for women are studied and theresultisgiveninthefollowingparagraphs:

Women seafarers are those whochoose this jobbearing the risks it bringsin mind. They are aware of the fact thatthere is a misperception towards themin the sector and they fight to beat this.They organize meetings, conferences,seminars, and establish networking tostrengthen solidarity among them. Sincethe misperception towards women iscommonplace in the sector, IMO decidedthe theme of World Maritime Day 2019as “Empowering Women in the MaritimeCommunity” and organized severalactivities on that day [25]. The activities,which bring all the stakeholders togetheron this issue, reveal that the prejudicewomen experience in the sector is theprejudice the women in the maritimesector can face more or less in the sameway as in everywhere in the world. It isalsounderstoodthat theseproblemsstemnotonly fromthemisperceptionsbutalsofrom social and cultural backgroundsand expectations in different countries.Because of these radical reasons, it is notexpectedthattheseproblemscaneasilybesolved,buttheremaybesomesolutionstothese such as mentoring and networking,theeffectsofwhichcanbe realized in thelong run. On the other hand, despite thehardshipswomenexperienceinthesector,theyrefusetobegivensomeprivilegesandstate that all they want is fair treatment.Theonlyexceptiontothisisthematernityperiod. Incasewomenwant togoback toserveonboardaftersomedivinerolesandresponsibilities they are given by naturesuchasmotherhoodorchildcare,itwillbehelpful to give them some privileges suchas being assigned at ashore units till thechildrengrowuptoacertainageorbeinggivensomehelpforchildcare.Thiswillbebeneficialforbothincreasingthenumberofwomeninthesectorandsatisfyingtheneedforefficientpersonnelthatthesectorneeds.

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On the other hand, some intervieweesbelieve thatwomenshouldend theirdutyonboardandworkatashoreunitsforgoodfamilylife.

Menshoulddotheirsharetohelpwomenwiththeirfightagainstthemisperceptionsandbias they face in the sectorand judgethemwiththemoralandintellectualvalueswhich they obtained by working togetherwithwomennotwith thosewhichbelongtootherpeople.Whatisexpectedfrommenis not to generalize some bad examplesthatcanbefoundateverysocietytoallthewomen in maritime and appreciate thosewomenwhodotheirworkwell.Womenaremore emotional and vulnerable by naturecomparedwithmen. Menshouldnottakethese traits as weakness and instead ofgoingforjugularonlybecausewomenwanttoworkatamen-dominatedsector,whichis traditionally their own field, in theiropinion, they should try to make use oftheirstrength.

Families which are the basic unitsof social life are among the importantstakeholders who have a role to give theplace women deserve in maritime. Thecharacter of the people is shaped whenthey are young. If the families pass downnegative feelings and prejudice aboutwomen to their children, to the boys, thiswill influence them during their life. Thatiswhy the familiesmustplant the ideaofgenderequalityintotheirchildren'smindsandsupporttheirdaughtersaswellastheirsonsiftheywanttogotomaritimeschoolsandwork onboard ships. It should not beforgottenthateducationstartsinthefamily.

Maritime schools can take importantsteps to promote both the sector andschools correctly and tomake the humancapital stronger in the sector. Those whoare interested in sea are people with tieswiththeseaandthosewhomakeuseofseaboth tomake their living and as a hobby.Unfortunately, although our country issurroundedbyseaonthreesides,onlythe

people living at the seaside are familiarwith sea and that’swhy only the childrenwhohavegrownupattheseasidewanttobeseafarers.Therefore,ifthepromotionofmaritimeschoolsismadeinawaytoreachthe remotest parts of the country, morepeoplewill be awareofmaritimeas a jobfield,andmorestudents,thatismorefemalestudents,willknowaboutit.Animportantpoint here is that thosewho promote themaritimesectorshouldintroducenotonlythe good sides of it tomakemore peopleinterestedinit,buttheyshouldalsoincludethehardsidesofitnottomakethesepeopledisappointed later. That is how peoplewho do not know much about hardshipsin maritime can be prevented to attendmaritime schools and to be a burden onthe school’s first and then on the sectorsince they may, sooner or later, realizethefactthattheyarenotsuitabletoworkonboard,sotheywillwanttoworkonshoreorneglect theirdutiesbecause theydon’tlikethem.

Employers are also among thestakeholders who can take some stepsto help women for a better career in themaritime. Interventions such as applyingaquotaforwomenandmakingitpossibleforwomentoberepresentedwithacertainfraction in the sector are among theonesimplied in the survey, but the responsesgiven to the statements about these andthe interviews made in the frame ofthe study show that such interventionsare found damaging by both men andwomen. They indicated that instead ofsuch affirmative actions, there shouldn’tbeany interventions,neither formennorfor women, which means the negativeone should also be erased. When this ispossible,thevacantpositionswillbegiventothosewhodeservethem,andwomenwillnotbedeniedsomejobsjustbecausetheyarewomen.Providingsuchequalitywillbeprofitableforbothwomenandemployers,that is,womenwill finda job towork for


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while employers will have the chanceto make use of their skills and abilities.Another thing expressed by intervieweesis that employers should do somethingto eliminate the glass ceiling barrier forwomen. If there are enough support forpregnancyandearlychildcareperiodsforwomen, they will not be prevented fromclimbingthecareerladderinthemaritime.

The last thing the interviewees haveemphasized is that all these stakeholdersshouldsupporteachotherandtheyneedtobeincooperationcontinuouslyandcloselywitheachothertoeliminatethebarriersforwomen in themaritimesector (Figure4).Today,technologicaldevelopmentsmadeiteasynotonlyforwomenbutalsoformentoworkonboard.Regardingthis,cooperationfor the prevention ofmisperceptions andprejudiceagainstwomenshouldbemadeand more women should be supportedto work onboard. This will be beneficialfor women to actualize themselves andwillhavepositiveeffectsonthesector,theeconomy, and the welfare of the country,which will make use of their skills andabilities.

Figure 4. Stakeholders to have a role to eliminate prejudice and misperceptions about women in maritime

AsisseeninFigure4,stakeholderswhohavethemostimportantrolesinchangingthe misperception and prejudice aboutwomeninthemaritimesectorarewomenthemselves,menwhoworkwithwomen,thefamiliesofthestakeholdersinthemaritimesector, educational institutions wheremaritimesectoremployeesaretrainedandeducated,andemployersinthesector.Thesustainingthewomenemploymentinthesector, their happiness, job satisfaction,and productivity heavily depend on theirrelationswiththesestakeholdersaswellasthe relations among themselves. It is alsovery important that all these, except forwomen themselves, should have positivethoughtsaboutwomeninthesectorfreeofprejudiceandmisperceptions.

5. Discussion and ConclusionSincethemaritimeisamale-dominated

and demanding sector, it is not easy for awell-educated,qualifiedwomanwhowantstowork in this sector to find a job as shelikes. Even if she finds one, shemay haveto leave it early because of somenegativeattitudes towards her. Maritime women,who are well aware of this, have beenstrugglingtocopewiththehardships,bias,andmisperceptionstheyface[1,26,27].

There have been many studies andactivitiestosupportthestruggleofwomenin getting the place they deserve in themaritime sector. For example, achievinggenderequalityandempoweringallwomenand girls have been the goals of IMO'sGender Program [5] and employment ofwomeninthemaritimesectorissupportedin the International Women’s Conference,2019 [14]. In addition, the participationofwomen inmaritime jobs is encouragedby various organizations such as IMO.As Tansey [3] points out, they were firstacceptedtomaritimeschoolsover30yearsago.Sincethenmanyconferences,seminarsand meetings have been conducted toincrease the awareness of people about

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the women in maritime. Unfortunately,noneofthemhaveresultedinasignificantrise in the awareness for the existence ofwomen in the maritime sector, as Kitada[12]indicates.Theirchancetobeemployedis little in this sector, and to be promotedto the managerial positions, similar tomany other sectors, is next to nothing asindicated in the report by InternationalLabourOrganization(ILO)[10].

Theoretically, they are given a numberof rights, so they are supposed to faceless and less obstacles each passing year,but, in practice, as Ghosh & Bowles [15]and Kitada&Harada [17] point out theystill have difficulty in finding internshipsas students and finding jobs as seafarers.AlthoughgenderequalitywhichisstatedinhasbeenmadeaSDGbyIMO,theprogressisslowanditseemsthatitwilltakedecadesforwomentoattaintheplacetheydeservein the maritime sector. Eliminating thebarriersisnoteasyforwomen,becauseitisseenthattherearealotofmisperceptionsand prejudice againstwomenwhich stemfromthesocialandculturalstructureofthesociety.Insteadofacceptingwomenastheyare, thebelief thatwomencannotsucceedin maritime jobs and the belittlement oftheir skills and abilities cause irreparableharmtothewomenaswellastothesector.womenstatethattheywanttobeacceptedastheyare,thattheydon’texpectpositivediscrimination in theemploymentprocessbut want to be treated equally. Men areexpectedtotreatwomenthesameastheytreatothermen.Theyshouldneitherbullywomentocausethemtoleavetheirjobnorprotectthemjustbecausetheyarewomen.Theeliminationofprejudicethathasbeencreated by all kinds of events throughoutcenturies and copingwith thedevastatingeffects of the misperceptions caused bythemarenoteasy,butthestruggletogivethewomen the place they deserve shouldstartfromsomewhereandallstakeholdersshould do what is expected from them

during this struggle. It should not beforgotten that the most important actorsinraisingtheawarenesswomen’sequalityin society are families and education andtraininginstitutions.Forthisreason,equaltreatment for women and men is notlimitingthejobchoicesofwomen,andnotkeepingthemawayfromanyopportunitiesjust because they are girls should startin the family. Maritime schools should dotheir share and emphasize that maritime,whichistraditionallyknownastherealmofmen,offerscareerchoicesforwomen,too,andwomenhaveavoice inmaritime, too.Lastbutnot least,employers inthesectorshould be fair in the employment processand should not refuse candidates onlybecausetheyarewomenorhirecandidatesonlybecausetheyaremen.

As is seen, maritime women haveboth a glass ceiling above them and glassbulkheads around them which are madeof misperceptions and prejudice. Theseglass bulkheads together with the glassceiling cause women in the maritime tohave a harder career path and a harderself-actualization process in comparisonwith their colleagues in other sectors. Toclearthewaywomenwilltakeinmaritimeisnotsosimpleastobeachievedbyafewstakeholdersinashorttime,onthecontrary,it is a demanding long-term process thatrequirescooperationbyallstakeholders.Ifallthestakeholdersinthemaritimesectordotheirshareproperly,themaritimewillbeapreferableandpeacefulsectorforwomen.Opening doors to maritime to women,being fair to both genders, supportingwomentoreachtheplacestheydeserveinmaritimeandmakinguseof theskillsandabilitieswomencanbringtothesectorwillbothboosttheefficiencyandmoraleofthepeople, improve internal communicationandproductivity, andmakebothmenandwomencommitted to their job,whichwillallbenefit themaritimesector.Thesemaybethestepstobetakentogivethewomen


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a space they deserve in the sector. utureresearchmay be aboutwhat can be doneto realize these, that is, which measurescan be taken in the short and long run tohelpwomenadvance in theircareer,workproductivelyandmakemostofthemselvesinthemaritimesector.

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[2] Ozdemir, P.,&Albayrak, T. (2017).Enhancing Quality in HigherEducation Through InternationalCollaboration:ProjectMENTORESS.InMuzafferYılmaz(Ed.),ICQH 2017 International Conference on Quality in Higher Education(pp.130-136).Sakarya:SakaryaUniversity.

[3] Tansey, P. (2000). IMO.Women on board. - Ten years of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Women in Development Programme. Recourse document. Retrieved February2019, from http://www.imo.org/blast/mainframe.asp?topic_id=406&doc_id=1082

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[5] IMO, (2019). Women in Maritime, IMO's Gender Programme. Retrieved January 02, 2020,from http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/TechnicalCooperation/Pages/WomenInMaritime.aspx

[6] Tansey, P. (2015). Women at theHelm: 25 Years of IMO’s GenderProgramme.InKitada,M.,Williams,E.&Froholdt L.L. (Eds.),Maritime Women: Global Leadership (1stEdition, pp. 17-22). Heidelberg:Springer.

[7] Stevenson,C.J.(2015).SustainableDevelopment Issues in Shipping:Women, the Under-RepresentedHuman Resource. In M. Kitada.,E. Williams., & L. Loloma (Eds.),Maritime Women: Global Leadership (pp.255-265).Berlin:Springer.

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Appendix: SURVEYAwareness of Maritime Women in Turkish Maritime Industry

1. YourGender Woman() Man()

2. DoyouthinkthatmaritimeindustryisknownenoughinTurkey?Doyouthink necessaryandpromotionalactivitiesforthedevelopmentofmaritimeculturein ourcountryarecarriedout? Yes() No() Maybe()

3. Ismaritimebusinessformen? Yes() No() Maybe()

4. Duetothephysiologicalstructureofawomanitisdifficulttoworkatseaandon boardforher. Yes() No() Maybe()

5. Themaritimeprofession,whichisamale-dominatedprofession,isdifficultfor womentoexistbothonshoreandandonboard. Yes() No() Maybe()

6. MaritimedepartmentssuchasMaritimeBusinessAdministration,Maritime TransportationandManagementEngineering,NavalEngineering,Marine Engineeringetc.canbeintroducedwiththeparticipationoftheAcademicStaff ofMaritimeFacultiesinhighschools. Yes() No() Maybe()

7. Inthemaritimesector,effortsshouldbemadetoensurethatthenumberof womenemployedinmanagementcompaniesandonboardcouldbehigherthan meninmaritimecompanies.Actionsrequiringpositivediscrimination,suchasa certainquotaforwomenand10%increaseinsalaries,arenecessarytoincrease women'sawarenessintheMaritimesector. Yes() No() Maybe()

8. Reasonssuchasmarriageandpregnancycausewomentoleavethemaritime professionearly. Yes() No() Maybe()

9. Women'sanalyticalandorganizationalskillsarebetterthanmen. Yes() No() Maybe()

10. Workinginthemaritimesectorasashipowner,port,shipyard,broker,freight forwarderiseasierforwomenthanworkingatsea. Yes() No() Maybe()

11. Negativeexperiencesofwomensailorsonboard(suchasseaaccidents, psychologicalpressure,mobbing,emotionalintimacy,extremeemotionalityetc.) haveanegativeeffectonshipowners'prejudiceregardingfemaleseafarers' employmentandtheemploymentoffemaleseafarersonboard. Yes() No() Maybe()

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