Furetank's gender balance progress: female seafarers triple in three years

In a traditionally male-dominated industry with a widespread skills shortage, promoting gender balance and equality should be a priority for any shipping company. Furetank's deliberate efforts have paid off in recent years, as the number of women in their ranks has tripled.

But darker undertones of sexual harassment and differential treatment persist within the maritime sector and must be taken seriously, as one of Furetank's female crew members attests.

Furetank has actively worked for many years to attract skilled female seafarers, encouraging more women to see the strong career opportunities available at sea. Summing up the progress of the past three years, following a strong fleet expansion and recruitment efforts, the company has gone from 11 to 31 seafarers in their ranks, with at least four more women joining this spring.

"Summing up this development feels fantastic. Women are represented from the roles of mess stewards, cooks, trainees and cadets all the way up to the highest-ranking officers in the engine room and on the bridge. We see strong interest from female maritime students — they view shipping as an exciting industry, where women may not previously have seen their place", said Furetank HR Director Yvonne Höglund.

Gender equality — an active effort

Apart from the self-evident ambition that women and men should be equally welcome in all workplaces and industries, benefits include widening the recruiting pool in an industry short of personnel, as well as the proven fact that a balanced share of women and men in crews increases overall wellbeing on board. But it takes active and ongoing effort to ensure that women feel at home in an industry where they are generally in the minority.

"We actively develop our culture to ensure that both women and men feel welcome and enjoy working with us. We are very proud that so many women thrive with us, and that word is spreading about Furetank as a good place to work", Yvonne Höglund said.

Strength in numbers

During the same period of this tripling, the size of the Furetank-managed fleet has barely doubled, which means that the proportion of women on board has increased on top of the raw numbers.

This might not be a coincidence, according to Felicia Liljeroth and Josefine Radonné, a couple who met at maritime college and together decided to apply for their final cadetship with Furetank, and subsequently for permanent positions. Today they are each second officer on their respective vessels — a very deliberate choice.

"Furetank are clear in their external communications that they both welcome and actively recruit women, and demonstrate that a relatively high proportion of women already work within their crews. It makes a real difference not to be the only woman on board. As soon as there is at least one female colleague, it changes the dynamic entirely. On my last voyage there were four of us: a chief officer, myself, a deck cadet and an ordinary seaman", said Felicia Liljeroth.

Josefine Radonné adds that it also makes an important difference to work with male crews who are used to working alongside women — where you don't have to be the "exotic element" who stands out, is treated differently, or worse.

Josefine Radonné and Felicia Liljeroth.

A darker side of shipping

She says during the interview that she feels the need to share a background story about what she calls "a darker side of shipping", and the reason she and her partner were both keen on finding an employer with an outspoken ambition to recruit women and change the industry for the better. It was an experience during one of the cadetships of her officer training.

"Very early on, I was told by a member of the crew that women aren't usually hired because it's inconvenient — they either end up pregnant or sexually harassed. A few weeks later, I was subjected to exactly that: sexual harassment by a colleague on board. When I finally found the courage to report it to the office, I felt that they treated me as the problem — despite the perpetrator admitting what had happened and there even being evidence", said Josefine Radonné.

The couple have decided to play their own part in opening women's eyes to the career opportunities shipping has to offer. They have represented Furetank at recruitment fairs and take every opportunity to spread the word.

"It really is a remarkable job — sailing large vessels, experiencing Europe's major ports, and spending your working days out at sea. I wish more women could experience it. And it's exciting to be part of driving positive change, making shipping a more equal and inclusive industry", said Josefine Radonné.

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