The role of Maritime Labour Convention in reducing maritime gender inequalities

Abstract

The problem of gender equality in the maritime field represents a challenge for obtaining human progress, economic development, respect, multiculturalism awareness and recognition of human rights. In a specific area like the maritime sector, gender issues are often considered taboo subjects. This paper presents a part of the results of a holistic study developed in 2018 on the role of the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) in solving maritime gender gap, through amendments of gender requirements designated for the maritime industry. Several suggestions of amendments are proposed to attract more females to seafarer jobs and to reduce disparities in employment in the sector. The research method consists in an online survey applied to 887 respondents, divided in 9 diverse categories of maritime stakeholders. The main conclusion shows that, among 6 gender requirements that should be amended to the MLC, the most important is related to implementing gender policies in shipping companies.for nondiscriminatory employment of female seafarers.