Maersk has announced significant progress in addressing the gender gap within its workforce through its Equal at Sea initiative in India. The number of female cadets in India has risen from 41 in 2021 to over 350 this year, with women now representing 45 % of this year’s intake in the nautical and engineering streams. This achievement enhances the diversity among Maersk’s seafarers in India and brings the company closer to its goal of equal gender representation by 2027.
Launched in 2022, the Equal at Sea initiative aims to promote gender equality among Maersk’s seafarers and tackle the historical underrepresentation of women in the maritime sector. According to a 2022 study by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA), women make up only 29 % of the overall maritime workforce, with a mere 2 % of the global seafaring population being female. An update on these figures is anticipated next year when the results of the 2024 Women in Maritime survey are published.
Karan Kochhar, Head of Marine People, Asia, Maersk, stated, “Through our initiatives, we have successfully inspired more women in India to choose seafaring as a career. Achieving 45 % has been a great team effort within Maersk and the industry. Now is the time to maintain this momentum and ensure that the women recruited are also retained in the fleet.”
The success of the Equal at Sea program in India has broader implications for Maersk’s global efforts to enhance gender diversity. The number of women seafarers in the Maersk fleet has more than doubled from 295 in 2021 to over 650 in 2024, increasing the percentage of women in Maersk’s global seafarer pool from 2,3 % in 2022 to 5,5 % in 2024.
