A report for the Danish Research and Education Agency identifies barriers to the admission and retention of women in maritime education. Women represent only a very small proportion of maritime education students. This analysis contributes to knowledge of barriers for women to choose and remain in maritime education and recommends how barriers are overcome.

Among the most important barriers to the choice of maritime education by women are:

- The lack of knowledge

Few subjects at school take women in a maritime direction, and there are few female role models to reflect on.

- The discrepancy between prejudice and reality

University studies of maritime engineering are often perceived as specialized education, although to some extent it is a generalist technical education. And women often automatically associate a maritime education with a career at sea, although most engineers get work onshore.

- The difficult environment for women at sea

Once women are at sea, there are very few examples of unpleasant situations. Both real situations and narrative about this sometimes prevent women from choosing the maritime profession. Moreover, the misperception that maritime careers involve long periods away from home, also contributes to the small proportion of women in maritime careers.

Check out the original article (in Danish).
https://ufm.dk/publika…/…/kvinder-pa-de-maritime-uddannelser