Displaying items by tag: Int Women's Day

8th March 2021

Ferry Operator Stena Line Aims to Become the Most Diverse Shipping Company in the World

Women in Maritime: The ferry operator Stena aims to o become the most diverse shipping company in the world doubling female management by 2022.

Ferry operator, Stena Line has increased the number of female managers it employs by an impressive 42% in only 5 years and has the ambitious target of ensuring they account for 30% of all management by the end of next year.

Only a meagre 2% of the 1.2 million seafarers globally are women (see: International Women's Day), so the Swedish ferry company is already doing a lot to challenge and change that.

By working hard to tackle the gender gap, the company has increased the number of female managers to one out of every five it employs (20% of all managers) in only five years - an increase of 42%. But targets are much more ambitious: before the end of 2022 its intention is that 30% of all managers, on all levels of the company, shall be females; from ferries and ports to management teams and, importantly, at board level.

”We need to ensure that we can attract, recruit and keep the best talents by actively recruiting from all genders for all positions. Gender equality gives us more competence to choose from in a world where companies are competing for talent. Research shows that when companies are more equal, they are also more creative and innovative, as well as making more money”, says Margareta Jensen Dickson, Group Head of People, Stena Line.

Stena Line’s diversity ambitions are guided by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 5 – Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls – and specifically, to achieve Target 5.5 “Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life”. The aim is to successfully fulfill one of the key indicators to achieving this, which is the ‘proportion of women in managerial positions’.

To achieve this Stena Line implemented a strategy to increase the number of female managers across the company. And it has paid off. In less than five years the percentage of female managers across the company has increased to one in every five, an increase of 42%.

But the company has a much more ambitious target. Before the end of 2022, the aim is that 30% of all managers, on all levels of the company, shall be females - from ferries and ports to management teams and the company’s board. Then the long-term aim is for Stena Line to achieve total gender equality.

To reach these targets, Stena Line has implemented several actions, including:

Succession planning: implemented to ensure that all genders are represented in the succession planning of managers at all levels of the company.
Challenge recruitment traditions: brought in new routines to change the recruitment traditions in all positions, especially where there is gender imbalance.
Global Female Leaders’ Network: A new network for all female leaders within the Stena Sphere is to be launched in 2021. The purpose is to make more female role models visible, create more connections within the Stena Sphere, as well as attract, motivate and develop young female leaders within the global Stena network.
Global employer branding campaign: On International Women’s day, 8 March 2021, Stena Line will launch a global ‘employer branding’ campaign on social media, aimed at women in shipping and transport. The campaign will run for the rest of the year and will highlight female role models and leaders from different parts of the company.

Here are some of Stena Line’s key women working in maritime across the UK and Ireland

Lynette Bryson, Chief Officer (Irish Sea)

Katie Baxter, Third Office (Irish Sea)

Lesley Fletcher, Port Duty Manager (Scotland)

You can see all the female leaders featured in the campaign here: Women in Maritime

Published in Stena Line

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First Female Captain of Irish Naval Service - Speaker At International Women's Day Luncheon

Lieut Cdr. Roberta O’Brien the first female captain of an Irish Naval Service patrol vessel, LÉ Aisling in 2008, is among speakers at an International Women's Day Luncheon event held today in Cork, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The Irish event in association with AIB, takes place in the Metropole Hotel. This afternoon's event is been held in advance of the official date of the globally held International Women's Day 2020 (this Sunday, 8 March).

O’Brien has had a remarkable career so far with the Irish Naval Service, and where she has really paved the way for females, not just in the Defence Forces but across all careers and paths of life. Roberta became the first female to join the navy in 1995 when she joined the Defence Forces as a cadet.

The theme for International Women's Day (#EachforEqual) is 'an equal world is an enabled world'. Collectively, each one of us can help create a gender equal world. Equality is not a women's issue, it's a business issue.

According to the event organiser, she is about to be promoted to the role of first female Naval Commander in the Irish State.

The Naval Service Officer was awarded 'Cork Woman of the Year' Award in 2011 and is seen on the occasion in the above photo along Port of Cork's city-centre quays.

Downriver of these quays is where the former LÉ Aisling (P23) renamed Avenhorn in 2017 departed farewell from the Irish Naval Base on Haulbowline, Cork Harbour for new owners which has since changed. For the last update click here.

For much more information on Sunday's worldwide event, click the IWD's website here.

Published in Navy

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National Yacht Club Facilities

Facilities include a slipway directly accessing Dun Laoghaire Harbour, over eighty club moorings, platform parking, pontoons, fuelling, watering and crane-lifting ensure that the NYC is excellently equipped to cater for all the needs of the contemporary sailor. Berths with diesel, water, power and overnight facilities are available to cruising yachtsmen with shopping facilities being a short walk away. The club is active throughout the year with full dining and bar facilities and winter activities include bridge, snooker, quiz nights, wine tasting and special events.

National Yacht Club History

Although there are references to an active “club” prior to 1870, history records that the present clubhouse was erected in 1870 at a cost of £4,000 to a design by William Sterling and the Kingstown Royal Harbour Boat Club was registered with Lloyds in the same year. By 1872 the name had been changed to the Kingston Harbour Boat Club and this change was registered at Lloyds.

In 1881. the premises were purchased by a Captain Peacocke and others who formed a proprietary club called the Kingstown Harbour Yacht Club again registered at Lloyds. Some six years later in 1877 the building again changed hands being bought by a Mr Charles Barrington. and between 1877 and 1901 the club was very active and operated for a while as the “Absolute Club” although this change of name was never registered.

In 1901, the lease was purchased by three trustees who registered it as the Edward Yacht Club. In 1930 at a time when the Edward Yacht Club was relatively inactive, a committee including The Earl of Granard approached the trustees with a proposition to form the National Yacht Club. The Earl of Granard had been Commodore of the North Shannon Y.C. and was a senator in the W.T.Cosgrave government. An agreement was reached, the National Yacht Club was registered at Lloyds. The club burgee was created, red cross of Saint George with blue and white quarters being sky cloud, sea and surf. The Earl of Granard became the first Commodore.

In July of 1950, a warrant was issued to the National Yacht Club by the Government under the Merchant Shipping Act authorising members to hoist a club ensign in lieu of the National Flag. The new ensign to include a representation of the harp. This privilege is unique and specific to members of the National Yacht Club. Sterling’s design for the exterior of the club was a hybrid French Chateau and eighteenth century Garden Pavilion and today as a Class A restricted building it continues to provide elegant dining and bar facilities.

An early drawing of the building shows viewing balconies on the roof and the waterfront façade. Subsequent additions of platforms and a new slip to the seaward side and most recently the construction of new changing rooms, offices and boathouse provide state of the art facilities, capable of coping with major international and world championship events. The club provides a wide range of sailing facilities, from Junior training to family cruising, dinghy sailing to offshore racing and caters for most major classes of dinghies, one design keelboats, sports boats and cruiser racers. It provides training facilities within the ISA Youth Sailing Scheme and National Power Boat Schemes.

Past Commodores

1931 – 42 Earl of Granard 1942 – 45 T.J. Hamilton 1945 – 47 P.M. Purcell 1947 – 50 J.J. O’Leary 1950 – 55 A.A. Murphy 1955 – 60 J.J. O’Leary 1960 – 64 F. Lemass 1964 – 69 J.C. McConnell 1969 – 72 P.J. Johnston 1972 – 74 L. Boyd 1974 – 76 F.C. Winkelmann 1976 – 79 P.A. Browne 1979 – 83 W.A. Maguire 1983 – 87 F.J. Cooney 1987 – 88 J.J. Byrne 1988 – 91 M.F. Muldoon 1991 – 94 B.D. Barry 1994 – 97 M.P.B. Horgan 1997 – 00 B. MacNeaney 2000 – 02 I.E. Kiernan 2002 – 05 C.N.I. Moore 2005 – 08 C.J. Murphy 2008 – 11 P.D. Ryan 2011 – P. Barrington 2011-2014 Larry Power 2014-2017 Ronan Beirne 2017 – 2019

At A Glance - National Yacht Club 2024 Events