Chinese Women Seafarers: Past, Present and Prospect

The global maritime industry plays an important role in international trade, the world economy, global stability and civil society as a whole. Both the IMO and the ILO have made great efforts to promote women’s employment in the maritime transportation sector. However, until now, less than 2 % of the global seafarers are women. In China, the government has advocated women’s rights, liberation and gender equality since the communists came into government in 1949. Chinese women have been encouraged to be employed in the traditionally male-dominant industries, such as mining, construction and seafaring. China feels proud of its strong track record of placing women on board commercial vessels as captains, chief engineers, radio officers and as navigating seafarers in various other positions. But, the glory has long become a history of the past. Now, in the twenty-first century, the number of navigating women seafarers in China has become extremely small. Training women as seafarers has drawn both praise and criticism from both scholars and practitioners in the industry. This paper takes the approach of a case study and analyses the key issues concerning the training and recruitment of women seafarers in China today. The rich empirical data presented, provides a clear picture of Chinese women seafarers today.