The Norwegian Hull Club’s own figures show it still has some way to go to achieve gender diversity.

Its main board of directors is split equally between four women and four men. But the imbalance starts to show at the management level. Its top management group has one woman and five men. Among managers reporting to that group, there are 18 men and five women.

Chief executive Hans Christian Seim pointed out that it has not been easy to recruit the best talent in the marine industry from a regional location such as Bergen — and at the same time address the need for diversity.

“We are competing internationally, so we need the best, whether that is a person from Bergen or London or the Ukraine, or whether a male or female,” he said. “But diversity is important to us long term, so we have put a lot of work into making people conscious about this in recruiting processes.

“My aim long term is to be the best company in the world when it comes to claims and insurance, and to strike that with a balance of gender and diversity. I believe in giving equal opportunities, but not compromising on our business strategy.”

Specialised field

There are also structural issues within the organisation. As an insurer working in a specialised field, employees tend to stay for a long time and there are not the regular personnel changes that would allow for a quick shake-up in its gender make-up.

Seim also believes that as an organisation representing shipowners from 24 countries, there should be an equal emphasis on being globally diverse.

CEO Hans Christian Seim. Photo: Norwegian Hull Club

Hildegunn Nilssen, head of communication and marketing, said making the Norwegian Hull Club attractive to younger women, who can be nurtured in the company, may be the best way to address gender imbalances in the long run.

“What we have realised is that we have to start when they are young,” she said. “The problem is how to attract young women, because it is not a problem to get qualified women in Norway today, we just have to get them to apply to [the] Norwegian Hull Club.

“We need to represent ourselves in a way that is more attractive to young women, because we know when we can get young people in, we can build on their knowledge and experience within the company.”