Like many people, Britannia P&I associate claims director Judy Binnendijk entered shipping by chance rather than design.
After qualifying as an attorney in South Africa, she joined a niche UK law firm in 2000, which led to two decades working in protection and indemnity.
Binnendijk has seen opportunities open up for women in that time.
“If you take maritime, insurance and legal, they are traditionally very old-fashioned and, in the past, they have been very male-dominated industries,” she told TradeWinds.
"When I started 20 years ago, it was much harder than it is now for women. I do think there has been a step change, which is really positive, but it has not always been easy.”
Pay differentials
Although there is still room for improvement, she thinks it is important that people are judged on ability rather than gender.
“I need to keep in touch with my femininity and I am not a feminist. I want to be promoted because I am good at my job, but I really don’t want to be promoted because of my gender,” she said.
Binnendijk believes P&I now offers clearer career paths for women. Greater transparency, she said, has helped even out pay differentials. And better maternity leave and flexible working arrangements are improving work-life balance for those with families.
But she does not view the industry's traditional hierarchical structures as necessarily a barrier for women.
“There is a distinct hierarchy, but that can be a positive attribute for any company because certainly, if you are ambitious, you can see where you would like to be and that can motivate people.”
Encouraged by numbers
She is encouraged by the increasing numbers of women in senior positions.
“I am meeting more and more women that are holding senior positions, not just in P&I clubs, but across the industry: members, law firms and experts, which is really refreshing, because women have stayed clear of the sciences in the past,” she said.
“There is still a way to go and we need more women in senior positions within the industry.”
Binnendijk gets a lot of satisfaction out of her job, which involves handling claims, as well as freight defence and demurrage work that uses her legal skills.
She works closely with Britannia’s Japanese and Israeli members and her career offers opportunities to travel and meet people.
It is also a job in which she can see her efforts having an impact.
“The favourite part of my work is getting a general inquiry from a member such as ‘what about this charterparty clause, can we tweak it?’ Because for me that is solving a problem before it happens. It’s positive, proactive and productive.”
