Top Indian fleet owners have been hiring women in key roles to run ships for many years now, but a recent guideline issued by India’s maritime administration will give it a further fillip and also nudge those who have shied away from recruiting women in a highly male-dominated profession.
“There are ship owners employing women and there are owners who are not employing at all. I do not blame those who don’t because in the absence of a clear directive or guideline, it is natural that any potential employer would be hesitant,” says Captain Radhika Menon, the first Indian captain in the merchant navy and the first woman ever to win the International Maritime Organization (IMO) award for ‘Exceptional Bravery at Sea’ in 2016.
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Radhika joined state-owned carrier Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) as a radio officer in 1991 before quickly switching over to the nautical side and has been sailing since then. In 2018, she joined the ship management company, Synergy Group.
Source: Business Line
