Women’s Role in the Turkish and Global Maritime Industry

Abstract

Women have always had a blessed and heroic character, with a self-confident and powerful look in Turkish society since the ancient times of Turkish culture. Traditional issues have affected women’s role in Turkish culture and lifestyle and, within the last 150 years, active working life, which began with industrial and technological innovations. Day by day, the social status of women in Turkey and job opportunities, have increased as the global shipping market expands. In the 1930s, Turkish women entered politics for the first time, one of the first suffrages in the world. The first female war pilot, Sabiha Gökçen, is from Turkey and she had the first flight in 1936. A thought occurred about Turkish women’s capacity: “If a Turkish woman can fly, why not to command a ship and pass over oceans?”. Yet, distinction and discrimination often block success. Approximately 60 years after the female war pilot, the maritime sector wanted to open a new door to young Turkish women. The belief about “Women on ship bring bad luck!” would finally move away and would give females chances to verify that management on vessels can also be performed by women captains and engineers. This paper includes history and real sea-life stories about/from Turkish maritime women and their achievements, which will highlight that having females on board does not bring any ‘Bad luck’.