[[{“value”:”
On International Women in Maritime Day, Sakura Kuma, senior advisor at Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), outlines how the maritime industry could more effectively make use of its innate diversity.
Shipping is a truly international business and I was drawn to a career in the industry as the result of the opportunity it offered to deal with different nationalities and cultures.
However, while maritime offers this innate diversity, it’s not always been the case that people from different backgrounds have been empowered to fully realise their potential.
With a smarter approach, maritime could more effectively engage a broader cross-section of society and deliver improved business results.
Understanding the current picture can help us move to a better way of working.
Challenging gender myths
Over 20 some years ago, at the early stages of my career I was based in a male-dominated organisation with a conservative culture, but was also given a lot of opportunities to progress my career.
Quite frankly, expectations from my colleagues were very low due to my gender, yet I surpassed them every time. I was very fearless in my willingness to do my best and succeed.
This eventually led to me being sent as chief representative to NYK’s Los Angeles terminal and I remember on my first day in post my new US colleagues could not believe that the Tokyo office had ‘sent a girl’ as I was the first female representative that NYK had ever sent there. Yet I have never considered my gender to be a barrier in business, as I believe that it only becomes one if you accept other peoples’ perspectives. Opportunities and obstacles always come in a package, which is why I have been trying to focus on the areas where I can make a difference and avoid what I can’t change, such as people’s preconceived notions. You know what is funny about those blinkered perceptions? They swing as they recognize your success.
After Los Angeles, I was seconded to go and work at the Yokohama port which at that time was going through a major development backed by funding from the central Japanese government. My role was to market and sell the port to major shipping lines and grow the business to help justify the huge costs of the development work.
During my time at Yokohama port I enjoyed establishing and enhancing business relationships with partners including APM Terminals. I felt I gained their respect for my fair deal-making approach and tough negotiation.
More than lip service
While I don’t believe that navigating life expecting to be discriminated against is helpful, it is also important that we acknowledge some realities within our industry.
For instance, many companies pay lip service to diversity but only ever make space for one or two women on their boards. Even then, the roles of these female directors do not tend to be central to the company’s core strategies so their influence is limited.
Ensuring there is sufficient room for women in senior leadership positions and that they are empowered to drive the strategic direction of the business will deliver powerful results for maritime.
Fortunately, I found a rare opportunity to do just this during my next career move, when I was invited to be CEO at APM Terminals Japan. However, yet again I was operating in a male-dominated environment, often being the only female at major events with over 200 people in attendance.
Broadening opportunities
It’s because of these formative experiences that I understand the importance of choosing people from different backgrounds when recruiting to my team.
Having been a pioneer in my different roles, I am determined to give other people from diverse backgrounds the same opportunities to grow and develop and become leaders in their own right. This is a shout out to other CEOs and people who are responsible for talent development, hiring and offering opportunities for growth. In the words of Nike’s commercial, JUST DO IT!
We are fundamentally the same if you strip away race, religion, culture and language, as we are all human with the same basic needs.
Empowering individuals and boosting maritime
I’m committed to supporting the She Sees project by becoming a mentor. I will encourage and empower individuals starting out on their career journeys as I did 25 years ago. I will allow them to grow, make mistakes and learn from them as success does not necessarily happen from the outset. Learning from your failures is one of the best ways to grow. It’s this approach that can ensure a broader pool of talent plays an active role in driving the future success of our industry.
Hiring people is an investment for the future and it is self-perpetuating as the ones who are successful will become role models and mentors for those around them. We need more diversity in shipping as this will generate different ideas and approaches to help solve some of the major challenges which the industry is facing like decarbonisation and digitalisation. These issues will only be solved through collaboration, respect and inclusion.
This article is part of the Lloyd’s Register Foundation and Lloyd’s Register Rewriting Women into Maritime History initiative – a collaboration with leading maritime organisations to raise the profile of female maritime expertise, experience and leadership, and help promote gender equity, diversity and inclusion.
The post Why diversity makes business sense appeared first on Energy News Beat.
“}]]