Self-perception of career prospects of women in shipping: Some evidence from a pilot survey among the shore personnel of traditional maritime countries

The paper aims at measuring the perception of career prospects that working women have in relation to shipping careers ashore. The authors distinguish between the personnel working in shipping and shipping management companies and the personnel working in auxiliary businesses related to inputs to shipping, which range from spares and parts to shipping finance. The analysis is based on the results obtained through an online questionnaire survey aimed at identifying the self perception career prospects by women working in large clusters of shipping and shipping related companies internationally. The survey focuses on the self-perception of career prospects by introducing additional variables – beyond pay-gaps, promotion procedures etc. – such as job satisfaction and its contribution to happiness. The main survey results are derived from completed questionnaires in – but not exclusively – European traditional maritime countries, especially from the largest shipowning community currently, i.e Greece. The introduction is followed by a section on the existing literature on career satisfaction. In Section 3, the authors focus on the nature of work in shipping and on its requirements, which may be of research interest for job satisfaction or for gender issues, and present the context within which a shipping related career ashore evolves. Section 4 discusses the survey methodology and the results of the completed questionnaires. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research on a topic which has attracted little academic interest, while having direct implications for the industry through the recent focus on staff turnover among charterers and the shift to quality management.