Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) has long-supported gender equity but must set its sights on the next generation of women seafarers if it is to get its message across, according to its new US chapter president.
WISTA needs to broaden its diversity and inclusion efforts, such as working with women advocacy group SheEO, by talking to high schools about maritime careers, Boriana Farrar said.
WISTA USA has partnered with California State University Maritime Academy in an effort to attract women to shipping, but female cadets are already sold on maritime careers, she added.
- Boriana Farrar, chief legal officer for Patriot Contract Services, has been a member of WISTA USA since 2007.
- She previously served on the WISTA USA board of directors for five years and was president of the New York-New Jersey chapter before joining the board.
- She is also chairwoman of the Maritime Law Association of the United States' standard and conventions committees and the Seamen Church Institute.
"When it comes to high school and younger than that, we have not — so far as I am aware — expanded our presence to younger students yet but I love the idea of mentorship at all ages," she told TradeWinds.
"Should we be talking to high schools, should we be further promoting the industry? I think the answer is a unilateral yes, and it's good food for thought."
Farrar, who is vice president and chief legal officer of Patriot Contract Services, was appointed president of WISTA USA at its annual general meeting in June.
She assumed the presidency from Parker Harrison, senior vice president and general counsel of Crowley Maritime.
Farrar, a long-time WISTA member, suggested that the global agency hold leadership meetings to explore ways to get both male and female students interested in the industry.
"WISTA has become a major player in the industry as to the female voice and promoting women and shipping, but we need to do a lot more," she said.
Shipowners need to help
But shipping companies need to do their part, too, to entice more women into an industry in which 98% of 1.2m seafarers are men and only one-third of onshore employees are women, Farrar said.
"We need to further promote and educate a lot of companies on many levels to the extent that they can benefit from gender diversity," she said.
"There are studies after studies in the corporate world that companies who are more gender diverse might become better because of the various ideas and the way people perform."
At the same time, companies should never hire women over men just because of their gender, she said.
"We don't want to be promoted because of gender, but we don't want gender to be a silent deterrent," Farrar added.
"When you have a candidate who is talented, educated and with fantastic qualifications, you shouldn't see the gender on the resume. That shouldn't be a decision-maker."
The executive is hopeful that maritime will one day achieve gender equity, but she also knows that one of the world's oldest professions does not change its ways overnight.
"You see a lot of women on the mid-management level but very few in the high-management level, and that is a reflection of our society and way of thinking for hundreds of years," she said.
"It will take a while to really break away from that."
