‘If God Had Wanted You to Go to Sea …’ Experiences of Women Seafarers

Abstract

The cargo shipping industry constitutes a gendered (male) occupation par excellence with a traditionally strong masculine occupational culture. Another prominent feature of this global industry is its ethnically segmented labour market. The ‘racial’ divide of the workforce intersects with gender and other axes of difference. Drawing on the author’s own ethnographic data as well as on a comprehensive review of existing research on the field, the chapter gives an overview of the issues faced by women working in the sector as well as their ways of coping with those issues. Gendered workplace interactions at sea often refer to a misogynistic discourse deeply rooted in the traditionally masculine culture of the industry, attempting to symbolically exclude women from the occupational group. Drawing on Kate Manne’s theory of the ‘logic of misogyny’, the author interprets those interactional practices as attempts by men to defend the gendered identity of the occupational group against the intrusion of women.

Citation

Grasmeier, M. (2022), "‘If God Had Wanted You to Go to Sea …’ Experiences of Women Seafarers", Wright, T., Budd, L. and Ison, S. (Ed.) Women, Work and Transport (Transport and Sustainability, Vol. 16), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 249-264. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2044-994120220000016016