Latest DSG DEI in Maritime Annual Review indicates shift from policy to accountability

The Diversity Study Group’s (DSG) Annual DEI in Maritime Review 2024 shares benchmarking results from their seafarer and shore-based surveys, highlighting the value of local application of DEI measures and company culture over broad policy measures.

 The Diversity Study Group has published its fifth annual review based on a survey of its membership’s employees to assess the effectiveness of the diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) strategies and plans. The report documents year-on-year trends in employee sentiment around DEI initiatives and policies undertaken by participating organizations, allowing the identification of areas of progress as well as areas and employee groups requiring further attention. This enables the development and application of tailored and nuanced DEI initiatives to ensure the most sustainable and impactful outcomes, particularly about employee retention and attraction.

DSG’s results showcase responses from over 3,000 people who completed the shore-based questionnaire, which is a 20% increase in responses in 2023. The newly initiated seafarer data-gathering survey had more than 5,000 crew members signed up, with 3,300 completing the full suite of questions on their engagement, experience, and sense of belonging.

Heidi Heseltine, CEO and Founder at DSG said, “The largely positive feedback from shore-based personnel and the encouraging results of our inaugural seafarer survey highlight a strong workplace culture among DSG’s participating organizations. These findings reflect the efforts of industry leaders in fostering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within the maritime sector. They also underscore increased employee trust in these organizations and the high-value maritime workers place on inclusive company culture. This represents a significant advantage for companies in attracting and retaining talent while reinforcing a workplace where employees feel valued and empowered to voice concerns—ultimately enhancing safety and operational excellence.”

Shift from frameworks to action.
Feedback from the survey has highlighted a key shift in emphasis from DEI training and policies, which are largely in place, towards management accountability for their application and the creation of a more inclusive culture. Both on land and at sea, respondents indicated that individual and local delivery of equity via management is key to people feeling included and connected to the company and their coworkers. This also reflects broader trends across incoming workforces where awareness of DEI has been on the rise, resulting in established expectations from an existing and incoming workforce.
Responses continue to indicate that global DEI policies risk being seen as a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution that fails to tackle actual issues for diversity and inclusion within individual workplaces. Managers should be sensitive to individual needs and the potential for exclusion based on cultural or language norms. Furthermore, the data shows that age, seniority, and time in post can all have an impact on psychological safety and feeling supported in the workplace. Understanding how DEI can positively affect this should be a key business priority for managers and HR professionals.

Identifying key concerns
Despite some concerns, only one in four shore-based respondents felt their organization could do more to improve DEI—a notable improvement from 2023. However, the survey highlighted areas for continued focus, such as the slight decline in positive sentiment among individuals with disabilities and those whose gender differs from that assigned at birth. Responses were also divided by gender as, within the benchmarking survey for shore-based employees, only 28% of men felt their employer could do more on DEI, whereas it was 41% of women.
Within the 2024 shore-based survey, the share of women declined from 46% to just over 40%. Additionally, the female representation at different levels of seniority suggests that the pace of change in terms of promotions and leadership roles has stalled. Among seafarers surveyed, 19 out of 20 respondents tended to feel that the overall sense of belonging and confidence in the structures to support DEI at their company is good. Yet, 1 in 5 people have experienced some kind of psychological harassment, such as bullying. Women (50%), LGB (35%), and middle-ranked (29%) seafarers top this list, while caterers (10%) and ratings (11%) are the least affected.

Notably, although women seafarers make up only 2.5% of the DSG survey, they were vastly more likely to encounter negative experiences on board. Half report at least one incident of psychological harassment, while one in four say they have been sexually harassed.

Experiences of exclusion or harassment can negatively impact employee morale and teamwork, particularly in the close-knit environments required at sea, potentially affecting vessel operations. The annual DSG DEI in Maritime surveys serve as a valuable tool to monitor and enhance psychological safety, supporting both employee well-being and operational effectiveness.

Avoiding complacency
“While this year’s survey shows that, in general, many aspects are on an upward trajectory, our emphasis should be on maintaining this momentum and avoiding complacency. We now have a five-year history of surveys to look back on so we can track key DEI metrics and employee sentiments over time, looking not just at year-on-year changes but trends across a meaningful period. This provides invaluable data for our Members to benchmark their progress and also acts as a barometer for the entire maritime industry to highlight the importance of infusing DEI into a company’s culture and overall business strategy to help build more diverse, inclusive, and cohesive teams,” said Heidi Heseltine.

For the freely available copy of the DSG Annual DEI in Maritime Review 2024 please email [email protected]