The following article is excerpted from the Seafarers International Union Seafarers Log, November 2004. The complete text can be read here.

In the late 1800’s, women smashed the blockade that once prevented them from working in the male dominated U.S. maritime industry. At that juncture, women worked primarily as stewardesses, hairdressers and in other similar capacities aboard passenger ships. When those vessels were taken over by the government - after the U.S. entered World War II - many of those women lost their jobs. They were required to relinquish their positions when their vessels returned to U.S. ports after Dec. 7, 1941.

One of those women, says the U.S. Merchant Marine website, was Betty Jackson. Jackson, in correspondence to President Franklin D. Roosevelt about the plight of women mariners, said: “We are not afraid of the dangers and we are willing to put up with any inconvenience as long as we can go back to sea.”

Her calls for women to be allowed to serve the country during the war fell on deaf ears. Admiral Emory Scott Land, head of the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration, replied to Jackson and said simply that there were no provisions on wartime ships for women crew members. Although Jackson’s request was turned down, official records show that three women were awarded the merchant marine combat bar after their ships were torpedoed, and four were prisoners of war.

Times are changing on the high seas

Fast forward to the present and it’s evident that the old ideologies regarding women and their supposed “place” in the maritime industry have changed. Some 200 years after women initially broke into the maritime business and more than 50 years following pleas by pioneers like Jackson to allow them to remain there, today’s women merchant mariners - especially those in the Seafarers International Union (SIU) - are fast becoming trailblazers. Women mariners prominently are represented in jobs found within each of a vessel’s shipboard departments.

Figures since 1951 paint an unmistakable portrait of significant progress. Overall membership went from 19 in 1951 to its pinnacle in 1993 when 693 women sported the SIU colors. In 1951, seven women held deck department ratings, two worked in the engine department and 10 served as stewards. Today’s numbers for the same ratings are 72, 10 and 309, respectively, with another 39 sailing in entry ratings not confined to one department.

“The number of women in the SIU definitely is growing now compared to when I joined three years ago,” said Natalie Nunes, a steward department member who joined the union in 2001. Nunes recently upgraded to chief steward at the Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, MD.

“When I first came to school here as an apprentice, there were only three women in 200 students. Now that number is about one in three, so the landscape is changing,” Nunes said. “Another difference is that women now are going into work areas that previously were dominated by men, including management.” Nunes has sailed aboard the USNS Charlton and the USNS Watson as well as aboard SIU-contracted passenger ships. She now works aboard the USNS Pomeroy and holds chief steward certification.

“Working at sea is challenging. You are away from your family, and for the most part from civilization, for days on end,” Nuses said. “Being the only woman in a house with 30 guys could potentially be nerve-racking. It really does not bother me though, because I think of them as my brothers, and they have always been nice and very respectful to me.”

Phase III Steward Department Trainee Jamey Russell sees the SIU as an avenue through which she could honor her mother’s wishes. “My mother told me that if something ever happened to her, it would be my responsibility to take care of my two younger sisters,” she shared. “I want to be able to honor my mom’s wishes and thanks to the SIU, now I can.”

Chief Cook Kim Strate holds a bachelor’s degree in education. A resident of Atlanta Beach, Fla., Strate learned about the opportunities available in the SIU through friends who sail. Since coming aboard in 2002, Strate has sailed on three vessels: USNS Sisler, USNS Charlton and USNS Watkins.

“I don’t have any problems being in the minority on ships or working with crews that are mostly men,” Strate said. “My life’s experiences have taught me how to present myself and deal with any adverse situation should it arise. So far that has not happened, and I attribute it directly to the professionalism and tremendous training of our crews.”

On the topic of specific jobs for women versus men, Strate sees the entire issue as a matter of attitude. “It’s all about the manner in which you present yourself,” Strate points out. “There definitely are some old school guys around who feel that women have their place, but that’s only their opinion. You either learn to deal with it or allow them to get under your skin. It’s been my experience that women handle themselves very well on all of the jobs, and as long as they continue to do that, things will take care of themselves.”
 

Two women are working in the deep-sea maritime industry thanks in part to support from the Apprenticeship Opportunities Project (AOP).

Linsey Knight is an apprentice ordinary seafarer serving on the M/V Dahl. Nicole Geideman is an ordinary seafarer on the M/V Patriot. Both were outstanding graduates from the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, MD. The Center is affiliated with the Seafarers International Union and administered by a joint labor/management board.

AOP promotes apprenticeship opportunities for women, people of color, and others who commonly face barriers to employment. The program is operated by Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Employment for Women and Men (ANEW) and funded by Port Jobs. Contact AOP at 206-381-1384, or visit their program page here..