COMPANY SERVICES GROUP SERVICES CAREER & CULTURE NEWSROOM CONTACT US COVID19 ENGLISH Women in Maritime: Expect Equality and Fear Nothing October 29, 2021News Women aiming for successful careers in maritime should be more courageous, not worry about failure and expect to be seen as equals, a senior shipping executive has said. Claudia Paschkewitz, Managing Director of ship manager Hanse Bereederung, believes women are treated much better now than when she joined the sector in 1989 – but feels more work is needed to increase gender diversity. “Things have improved, although we’re still not where I think we should be as we need more diversity in the industry,” Ms Paschkewitz said during a session at the Women in Shipping Summit. The panellists were asked what when starting out in shipping they wished they knew about career planning, training and transition. “I started as an apprentice in shipping and was thrown into a man’s world. There were no women in senior positions at my first company, which I didn’t notice because it was normal at that time. But I ask myself now, ‘Should I have questioned the balance?’” Ms Paschkewitz wishes she had been more vocal earlier in her career. “Don’t be afraid to ask for things – speak up,” she said. “I wasn’t invited out to lunch or to go to industry events with male colleagues; I stayed in the office and answered the phones. I should have asked to be included.” Like Ms Paschkewitz, Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM)’s Mark O’Neil has seen shipping become more diverse since he joined the industry in the mid-1990s. After a five-year stint as a British Army officer, Mr O’Neil became a maritime lawyer, and later partner, for international law firms in a legal career spanning 25 years. He then joined CSM where he is now President and CEO. “Diversity in all its forms is such an important issue,” he said during the Women in Shipping Summit. “We have to be blind to difference – I don’t see a woman or man in front of me, I see a person and that’s the most important thing.” When heading up a law firm’s maritime department, Mr O’Neil promoted two women in his team to partner. “Boy, did that make a difference to our partnership meetings, which were much more balanced and reasonable,” he said. “Before then, we had 18 partners in the shipping team and not one single woman among them.” Today, there are more opportunities for women to secure senior positions in shipping, according to Mr O’Neil. He cites Ms Paschkewitz as an example of someone reaching the top after facing barriers earlier in her career. She and her peers in top-level roles now have the power to challenge gender discrimination and to help younger generations follow in their footsteps. “It’s not acceptable for young women to be left out of lunch meetings or for their voice not to be heard,” Mr O’Neil said. “There is a responsibility on women and men in senior positions to fight the corner for the next generation.” Women hoping to emulate Ms Paschkewitz’s success should be positive and see any hurdle as a challenge rather than an obstacle. “Young people coming into maritime have to grab opportunities and be competitive,” said Mr O’Neil, who also urges caution when setting personal goals. “We can’t all be winners; we can’t all rise to Claudia [Paschkewitz]’s position – and not everyone wants that, but there’s nothing wrong with being competitive and ambitious,” he added. Mr O’Neil’s advice for women in maritime is to find something they love doing. “Work is often seen as something you don’t enjoy but have to do to bring in money. It should be fun; if it isn’t, ask your bosses about moving into another department or business area,” he said. When starting out in shipping, Ms Paschkewitz believed that hard work alone would help her climb the ranks. Her advice for women planning to make their mark in maritime is to network and to be vocal when they want something. “I should have paid more attention to networking with colleagues,” she said. “When younger, I was hesitant to connect with or talk to male colleagues, but it’s important to be interested in and know the people you work with.” Mark O’Neil – CEO, CSM Claudia Paschkewitz – Managing Director, Hanse Bereederung, 12 OTHER POSTS NOVEMBER 12, 2021BY Has Covid-19 pandemic put seafarers in the driver’s seat? The Covid-19 pandemic was tough on seafarers. When the globe went into lockdown in March... NOVEMBER 11, 2021BY Columbia Shipmanagement Announces New Mental Health Initiative Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM) is proud to announce it is furthering its efforts to promote crew... NOVEMBER 3, 2021BY Enviro Award: CSM Environmental Efforts Acknowledged with National Award CSM is honoured to accept the 2020 Environmental Keeper Gold Award from the Pancyprian Environmental... OCTOBER 27, 2021BY TotalEnergies and Columbia Shipmanagement Enter Partnership to Foster Energy Transition with a focus on Shipping TotalEnergies and Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore various... OCTOBER 20, 2021BY Wilderness Walk for Local Charity It was a walk in the wilderness last Sunday as Columbia Shipmanagement staff hiked the Artemis trail on... OCTOBER 18, 2021BY Good Eats for a Good Cause in Italy Our colleagues at CSM Italy recently had some good eats for a goodcause. They met for lunch and donated the amount... WELCOME COMPANY OUR SERVICES CAREER NEWSROOM CONTACT US ADDITIONAL LINKS General Privacy Notice Cookie Settings Imprint / Impressum Terms & Conditions Datenschutzerklärung 中华人民共和国网络安全法 附加链接 般隐私声明 饼乾 选项 版本信息 条款和条件 隐私政策 中华人民共和国网络安全法 联系我们 CONTACT email: marketing@csmcy.com CONNECT WITH US 联系人 COLUMBIA Shipmanagement Ltd 21 Spyrou Kyprianou Avenue, Yermasoyia, 4042 Limassol - Cyprus 电话： +357 2584 3100 - 传真：+357 2532 0325 电子邮箱： marketing@csmcy.com CONTACT US 联系我们 © 2019 | COLUMBIA Shipmanagement - All rights reserved Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. For more information please click here. Accept All Cookies Reject All Cookie Settings