07 | Social impact

Diversity, inclusion, belonging and equity

Gender inequality and being a female in shipping remains a significant challenge for both Hafnia and the wider shipping industry.

At Hafnia, this issue is high on our agenda. It is already among our strategic priorities that we continually monitor salary ratios between men and women to eliminate differences in pay, but it is crucial that we foster an environment where all of our employees feel safe and valued both at sea and ashore.

It is our goal that by 2024, women will account for at least 40% of the organisation on shore. Currently, women account for 33% of our office staff, however 40% of newly recruited employees in 2021 were females. We acknowledge that the initiatives we run have a long-term perspective and results will not occur overnight, which means we may not reach our ambitious target. But this does not mean we will not keep our high ambitions. We strive to foster a more diverse and inclusive industry – not only for women, but for everyone, as we embrace differences in age, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability/ disability, background and other characteristics that make our employees unique. We believe the collective sum of our individual differences represent a significant part of our company culture.

Hafnia continues to be a committed signatory of the Charter for More Women in Shipping. We believe that a diverse workforce results in engaged and motivated colleagues, which in turn leads to higher retention, creativity, innovation and performance.

The Diversity Study Group

In 2021, Hafnia became a member of Diversity Study Group. The Diversity Study Group offers a confidential interactive web-based business intelligence platform for equality, diversity and inclusion assessments, benchmarking, reporting and strategy development. This means we have data available to measure our efforts and help us monitor our progress. Additionally, it offers a forum to discuss the topic, the development and challenges with companies in our industry. We are a strong believer in working with the industry to solve the challenges.

SeaCode

Hafnia and Shell co-created a program for solving some of the challenges faced by women in the maritime industry, called Women in Maritime Labs. The program shortlisted ideas from 50 participants across the maritime industry and promised to create tangible digital solutions that could solve some of these challenges. The winning idea was ‘SeaCode’.

SeaCode is an online platform for seafarers of all gender in the maritime industry facing difficult situations at work (on-shore and off-shore) – such as harassment, discrimination, and mental health struggles. The platform enables one to share their stories in order to shine a light on the real problems that people experience.

By taking firm action on the challenges facing women in the industry and working to dispel misperceptions about life in the sector, Hafnia hopes to improve working conditions, foster an open and transparent culture and continue attracting the very best talent to its inclusive and diverse working environment.