WOMEN ON WATER

GİZEM ÇEVİKMSC STUDENT

ISTANBUL TECHICAL UNIVERSITY

NOVEMBER 2010

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SUPERSTITION AT SEA Since the first rudimentary vessel was placed on the ocean’s

surface, seafarers have developed and observed a stringent set of myths and superstitions. Here are just a few of the many maritime superstitions.

Bananas, have no place at sea. Since the 1700’s, it has been widely believed that having a banana on board was an omen of disaster.

Friday is the worst possible day to start a journey on a boat and no enterprise can succeed which commences on that day.

AND THE MOST POPULAR SUPERSTITION İS “A Woman on Board is Bad Luck”. While having a woman on board would anger the sea, having a “naked” woman on board would calm the sea.

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A WOMAN ON BOARD İS BAD LUCK!

In Suzanne Stark's book 'Female Tars' she tells of an example in the middle ages when sailors gave in to this fear with horrible consequences. At the height of a storm off the coast of  Cornwall, panicking men in a fleet of ships began to throw their female passengers to the sea. Over sixty women were drowned in this way in the hope of appeasing the storm and saving themselves. It failed to work and the majority of men, including their commander, Sir John Arundel, died.

This is why many vessels have a figure of a woman on the bow of the ship, this figure almost always being bare-breasted. It was believed that a woman’s bare breasts would “shame” the stormy seas into calm. Alas, the ancient power of female nudity.

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THE EARLY DAYS OF WOMEN AT SEA Before the 1600’s when a ship

came into port, women went to on board and stay there until the ship put to sea again. Many officials noted that ships became overrun with women.

Being women on board was as a ship's boy. They preferred wearing male clothes and the company of men.

To be the wife of a sailor in the age of sail was a hard life on land or sea. They usually stayed at home waiting for meagre wages that were often extremely late. Wives of men from the lower deck, who went to sea with their husbands, could expect a harsh and dangerous life.  Officially they did not exist, and there was no record of them on the muster.

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WOMEN IN SERVICE ON LINERS The growth of commercial liners and the

increase in voyages across the Atlantic gave women their first opportunity to forge a career at sea.(1980’s) At first the domestic staff that sailed were in the direct employ of female passengers, who would not be waited on by men.

Then when the numbers of poor women emigrants increased there was a greater need for female staff to guard their physical and moral well-being. These female crewmembers were called ‘Ship’s Matrons’ at a low grade and ‘Conductress’ if they were of higher status.

Women weren't always welcome on board ships, even when working in what were traditionally seen as 'women's roles'.

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TAKING OVER COMMAND

The range of opportunities for women at sea was not to change for many years to come. Well into the twentieth century women were still working in domestic roles; it took women a long time to break into clerical positions and from there to challenge men’s work in every area on board.

Today’s ships are technologically very advanced and the oceans are safe to operate. The adventurous instincts of women to face challenges at sea are a growing phenomenon and the shipping industry has to adjust and adapt. It has been reported that in the male dominated sea, they are put to confront severe discrimination.

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The discrimination begins at the Maritime Education & Training Institutes where the faculty expresses doubts on women’s capability to withstand the vagaries at sea. Thereby, They are always subjected to endurance test and are required to prove their physical ability.

At last years, some institutes from different countries are giving special chances for women colleguies. For example, When The ITU Maritime Faculty in Turkey was opening its doors to women, it had set up a special quota unless limiting score.

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STCW CONFERENCE, 1995, ATT.3

Resolution 14 – Promotion of the participation of women in the maritime industry

THE CONFERENCE, HAVING ADOPTED the 1995 amendments to the

International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978,

NOTING the International Maritime Organization’s Medium-Term Plan for the Integration of Women in the Maritime Sector and expressing support for the Organization’s aims of promoting the training of women in the maritime sector,

DESIRING to achieve equal access for men and women to maritime training and to employment on board ship,

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INVITES Governments: .1. to give special consideration to

securing equal access by men and women in all sectors of the maritime industry;

.2. to highlight the role of women in the seafaring profession and to promote their greater participation in maritime training and at all levels in the maritime Industry.

THE STUDIES LIKE THIS RESOLUTION WERE THE BIGGEST SUPPORTERS OF THE IDEA “ WOMEN ON WATER”.

Molly Kool, 1st woman licensed

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WISTA Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA)

is an international organization for women in management positions involved in maritime transportation business and related trades worldwide.

WISTA aims to be a major player in attracting more women to the industry and in supporting women in management positions. With networking, education and mentoring in focus we can enhance members' competence and empower career success.

WISTA is growing! With over 1.300 individual members and 29 National WISTA Associations (NWAs), the membership has increased by 40% during the past years. 

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THE SHIP’S MASTER (FOR MEN)

THESE DEFITIONS ARE MOST FOR MEN, BUT WOMEN CAPTAIN’S CAN DO THIS JOB AS GOOD AS MEN.

A Captain has responsibilities to the crew, ship, cargo and voyage from the port of embarkation to the port of disembarkation. He has the authority to initiate prudent action to protect the vessel and save it from hazard and to call upon all persons onboard to render assistance in an emergency, failure to render such assistance constitute a crime. The Master is a 'father like figure' onboard, who is required to lead, look after, guide and support the crew.

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IT‘S ALL ABOUT LEADERSHIP

Honesty Competent Forward-looking Inspiring Intelligent

Fair-minded Broad-minded Courageous Straightforward Imaginative

As a master of ship he/she must have the characteristics of a leader, which are written below:

A number of the characteristics of a leader fall into a greater category that many of the leading executives of today refer to as Emotional Intelligence.  Achieving this level of leadership will inspire those around you and lead your teams to great heights.

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EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE OF WOMEN If women are proficient in these competencies, their higher

emotional intelligence scores might reduce the discrimination they face during attempts to rise in management positions, and instead advertise women as skilled leaders.

However, this could become possible if the organization takes proactive decision and formulates policies, which promote participation and progress of women.

The first question arises as to whether the organizations, in which females are working for, are treating them equal and giving them their rights.

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The action, to ensure the women managers function as effectively as their male counterparts do, is to provide women who already have basic leadership traits with additional management skills and tools that will contribute to enhanced performance. The good news regarding emotional forms of intelligence is that they can be easily learned, therefore, organizations could specifically keep training programs for enhancing the EI competency so that women could climb the ladder to high positions.

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Since progressive organizations aim to hire the best talent, both men and women, they should recognize that women face a tougher challenge than men do after they join the male dominated organization. Training, educating, and nurturing women mangers will ensure their accelerated growth after they have become comfortable in the workplace.

In addition to, improving the corporate environment by removing barriers that exist for women but not for men. Glass ceiling for women managers is an attitudinal hurdle. Organizations need to provide same challenging assignment to women, as men, which will tax them, stretch their potential, and provide a learning platform.

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EMPLOYED WOMEN ON BOARD Women represent only 1-2 per cent of the world's 1.25 million

seafarers. In the cruise line sector, they represent 17-18% of the workforce. 94% of women are employed on passenger ships (with 68% on

ferries and 26% on cruise ships) and 6% are employed on cargo vessels (i.e., container ships, oil tankers, etc.).

As for jobs, there are women shipmasters and chief engineers, as well as other officers. Women are working as hotel staff on passenger ships.Of this latter group, 51.2% of women at sea come from OECD countries, 23.6% from Eastern Europe, 9.8% from Latin America and Africa, 13.7% from the Far East, and 1.7% from south Asia and the Middle East.

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IMPROVING CONDITIONS FOR WOMAN The maritime community has parts: companies, trade unions,

seafarers' welfare organizations, and others.

Companies could try to place new recruits aboard vessels with women officers.

Sexual harassment policies are important. Trade unions should take up these matters and other issues.

Improving conditions of women at sea is also related to improving conditions of work for all seafarers. In this regard, the ILO is in the process of consolidating its many maritime labour Conventions into a single, consolidated standard. At the national level, and at the company level, there should be increased emphasis on improving shipboard conditions.

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VIEWS OF THE WOMEN ON WATER According to some of the women interviewed for the study, those

days of balmy working conditions may be some time off.Women seafarers reported comments like their place being "in the kitchen" rather than on deck, that women weren't suited for the sea because they "all argue with each other" (as if men don't!), being told "blonde jokes" or given the worst, dirtiest jobs.

"The lads I was sailing with spent about four months doing those awful jobs, and then they were up on the bridge in a clean environment," said one woman who spoke about being tested to see if she had the "right stuff" for the job.They will push a woman a lot, lot harder."

Some women reported taking drastic measures to avoid being harassed, including altering or "de-feminizing" their appearance (one woman engineer actually shaved her head!).Another cited how she had to punch a chief officer to get him out of her room.

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THANK YOUTHANK YOU

FOR YOUR ATTENTION…FOR YOUR ATTENTION…

““WHERE THERE IS A WILL WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY !!!”THERE IS A WAY !!!”