Leading Japanese shipping company NYK Line has been awarded a bronze rating for its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBT+) initiatives in the workplace.
The award comes from Japan's work with Pride (wwP) organisation which was established to encourage workplaces where sexual minorities can work comfortably.
The recognition, although modest, is a positive development in the shipping industry which is not known for its efforts in promoting LGBT+ equality in the workplace.
Each company under the wwP scheme is assessed under five equality criteria.
In 2019, NYK established a LGBT+ consultation service for sexual minorities to discuss workplace concerns. It also runs an e-learning programme for employees and runs a human rights week every December.
Its own code of conduct states it will respect human rights including "gender, sexual orientation or gender identity".
NYK said its efforts were "comprehensively evaluated" in the award and it would "continue to work to enhance the workplace environment in which employees with diverse backgrounds can work together, demonstrate their human potential, and work with peace of mind and success in the global field".
There have been ongoing efforts to raise LGBT+ issues within the shipping industry.
A Pride in Maritime event was held during this year's London International Shipping Week under Maritime UK's diversity programme.
The event looked at ways the shipping industry could be made more welcoming to the LGBT+ community.
A Pride in Maritime network has been established and is headed by maritime union Nautilus International's Danny McGowan.
