Women in maritime should be recognised for merit, not gender

Women in maritime should be recognised for merit, not gender
May 18, 2026 https://splash247.com/women-in-maritime-should-be-recognised-for-merit-n...

Irene Rosberg, programme director for the Blue MBA and Blue Board Leadership Programme at Copenhagen Business School, writes for Splash on International Day for Women in Maritime.

Women in Maritime Day is an opportunity to celebrate progress, but it should also be a moment for honesty. The maritime industry has spoken about gender equality for many years, yet women remain underrepresented across much of the sector, particularly at sea and in senior decision-making roles. The question now is not whether the industry supports women in principle. Most companies would say that they do. The more important question is whether maritime is prepared to create the conditions in which women can progress because they are qualified, capable and ready to lead.

For me, this distinction matters. Women should not be considered for positions merely because they are women. In fact, it is time we became uncomfortable with the idea that gender alone should ever be enough to justify a seat at the table. No woman wants to join a board, take command, lead a department or represent an organisation while wondering whether she is there because she earned it, or because someone needed to demonstrate progress by hiring a woman. That is not empowerment. It is another form of limitation, because it reduces professional women to their gender before it recognises their ability.

This does not mean rejecting the need for gender equality. On the contrary, it means demanding a more serious version of it. Real equality is not achieved by placing women in visible roles and calling it progress. It is achieved when women have the same access to training, technical knowledge, operational exposure, networks, mentoring and promotion pathways that allow careers to be built properly. It is achieved when women are not only invited into the industry, but are given the tools and opportunities to become indispensable within it.

The maritime industry is changing too quickly for this to remain a social issue alone. Digitalisation, decarbonisation, new regulation, automation and advanced technology are reshaping the skills the sector needs. At the same time, the industry is facing a shortage of talent and expertise. Against that background, failing to develop women properly is not only unfair; it is commercially short-sighted. Maritime cannot afford to ignore or underuse a large part of its potential workforce while simultaneously warning that it does not have enough skilled people for the future.

This is where the industry should focus its efforts. If maritime wants more women in leadership, it must invest in women before leadership roles become available. That means targeted upskilling, professional development, exposure to technical and commercial decision-making, and stronger pathways from entry-level roles to senior positions. Women must be supported into the areas where influence is built: operations, finance, technology, safety, regulation, crewing, ship management, chartering and strategy. Visibility matters, but capability matters more. Without capability, visibility becomes fragile.

Women also have a responsibility in this conversation. We cannot ask only to be included; we must also be prepared. We must invest in our own expertise, seek knowledge, build networks, develop leadership skills and make ourselves difficult to overlook. The barriers in maritime are real, and many of them are rooted in old assumptions about who belongs in this industry and who is expected to lead it. But those barriers are challenged most effectively when women enter the room with confidence, substance and credentials that cannot be dismissed.