THE Seafarers’ Charity has joined the Diversity in Maritime Charter, an industry initiative which aims to close diversity and inclusion gaps in the maritime workforce.
The charter is an initiative of Maritime UK, the organisation behind the global Women in Maritime series which has gained attention in Australia’s maritime sector.
The Diversity in Maritime Charter requires its organisational signatories to share baseline data on the proportion of women in their workforce and across middle and senior management.
The charter also challenges organisations to set targets around equality, diversity and inclusion. Maritime UK engages with charter organisations to assess progress.
IHS Markit, GAC and Hutchinson Ports – Port of Felixstowe are among the fourteen maritime businesses which have signed the charter so far.
Chrissie Clarke, head of people programmes and operations at Maritime UK, said the maritime body was delighted to welcome The Seafarers’ Charity to the Diversity in Maritime Charter.
“The charter is an important step on The Seafarers Charity’s journey to creating a more inclusive sector, whether at sea or on shore, and their progress will really help move the sector forward,” Ms Clarke said.
Jo Doheny, impact executive at The Seafarers’ Charity, highlighted the NGO’s Diversity Working Group as an initiative driving its equity, equality, diversity and inclusion efforts.
“Our staff-led Diversity Working Group was formed in 2020 in response to the death of George Floyd,” she said.
Ms Doheny was one of the founding members of the working group.
“The group aims to pool our ideas, lived experiences and thoughts to become more understanding and inclusive – working together to better embed EEDI into all aspects of our culture, policies and processes.
“We have really benefited from regular meetings and training around issues including equality, diversity and inclusion, mental health awareness and unconscious bias and look forward to continuing our EEDI journey.”
Freddy Onono, finance analyst and one of the original members of The Seafarers’ Charity’s working group, said
“Something I really understand a lot more about now is mental health,” Mr Onono said.
“I’m from Kenya in Africa and anyone suffering with poor mental health is really side-lined and culturally a mental illness is linked to a lack of intelligence or just hidden away.
“I have shared my new perspective on recognising and listening to people suffering from mental health problems not just with colleagues at work but also with my Kenyan friends and family because it has changed my thinking.”
