DOI: 10.47512/meujmaf.1886690 ISSN: 2687-6612

NAVIGATING INEQUALITY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN SEAFARERS

Müge Büber, Esin Candan Demirkol
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This study presents a comprehensive systematic review of gender discrimination, workplace perceptions, and structural inequalities affecting women seafarers across global maritime contexts. Synthesizing 144 studies published between 2000 and 2025, this review critically examines gender-based harassment, exclusionary organizational cultures, career progression barriers, and the psychological, social, and operational challenges experienced by women at sea. Using the PRISMA-2020 framework and PICOS criteria, the study identifies five dominant thematic domains: gender-based discrimination and harassment, organizational culture and career progression, maritime education and training constraints, work–family balance and wellbeing, and policy-level interventions. The findings reveal persistent gaps between international regulatory commitments particularly those under the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), and the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) and shipboard realities, driven by cultural resistance, weak enforcement, and insufficient institutional support. Despite increasing awareness and emerging gender-responsive initiatives, women remain severely underrepresented in the global seafaring workforce, with available estimates generally indicating a very low share relative to men. The review highlights substantial methodological and regional blind spots in the literature, underscoring the need for longitudinal, intersectional, and intervention-based research to inform effective policy reforms. Strengthening gender-inclusive governance requires not only cultural change and institutional awareness, but also enforceable measures such as confidential reporting systems, gender-sensitive HR practices, structured mentorship pathways, stronger accountability mechanisms, and targeted incentives to improve the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women seafarers.

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