Female Mentorship Programme is designed to give female cadets more confidence in navigating the challenges of life onboard ship

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement has won the inaugural ‘Best HR Initiative’ award at Spinnaker Global’s Maritime People and Culture Conference for its comprehensive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion  programmes.

BSM has set ambitious diversity targets and deliver training programs on inclusive behaviours to 30% of shore staff. Its mental health training programme has been delivered to more than 3,500 seafarers and shore staff.

In 2023, BSM achieved significant milestones: two females were assigned as management board members, and 31% of shore managers were female, reflecting a 5% increase compared to 2022. BSM is a proud signatory to the All Aboard Alliance, a collaborative effort led by senior maritime industry leaders to accelerate DEI efforts at sea and ashore.

In particular, the newly-developed BSM Female Mentorship programme is designed to give female cadets more confidence in navigating the challenges of life onboard ship, including social isolation, performance pressure and gender bias in a traditionally male-dominated workplace.

“The introduction of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programmes have been very well-received throughout the organisation and has had positive impacts on our employees” said Irena Kyprianidou, Group HR ESG Officer, BSM.

“BSM deserve our congratulations for these initiatives which capture the spirit of how supporting and investing in people pays dividends that go beyond financial returns,” said Spinnaker Global Chairman Phil Parry. “These programmes are an example of the kind of vision we need in maritime to drive and encourage diversity, inclusion and safety.”

“Providing support for personal and professional development, particularly for seafarers, is an essential element in encouraging more women into shipping,” said Julian Bray, Editor of Tradewinds who helped judge the award. “What BSM has achieved looks like a straightforward process but the commitment required to put it into practice is to be commended.”

Also highly commended in the awards, which were sponsored by training provider Mintra, were Navigator Gas for its ‘Coffee Roulette’ Networking Initiative, Pacific Basin for its enhancement to maternity leave arrangements and Teekay for its ‘50 Years, 50 Stories’ programme.