The WISTA pledge: What’s next for gender diversity at Wilhelmsen?

In 2022, the Wilhelmsen group set ambitious targets to boost gender diversity, aiming for 30% women in top management by 2025 and 40% by 2030. This commitment was reaffirmed last year when the group signed the WISTA Norway 40 by 30 pledge, a global voluntary initiative to achieve 40% women in leadership roles by 2030 in the maritime industry.
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Why this matters to us 

Benedicte Teigen Gude, Chief of Staff, explains: 

The WISTA pledge is an important signal, but real change happens through our daily actions. Our key challenge is to attract the best talent, regardless of gender, and ensuring everyone feels included. By aiming for 40% women in leadership by 2030, we’re building a stronger, more innovative, and resilient organisation. 

 

Progress across the group 

By the end of 2024, Wilhelmsen reached 31% women in the top three levels of management, reflecting ongoing efforts across the group. However, progress varies within and between businesses due to the diversity of their operations, challenges, functions, and geographical locations. 

For example, Wilhelmsen Ships Service, providing products and services to the maritime industry, has achieved 39% women in its top three levels of management. Wilhelmsen Ship Management, managing vessel crews and operations, has reached 44% women but this is limited to onshore positions. Wilhelmsen Port Services, providing services to vessels calling ports, has increased its proportion of women in leadership from 20% to 30% in the past two years. Likewise, NorSea, a logistics and property provider serving the energy sector, has reached 23% in leadership positions. All these businesses operate in traditionally male-dominated industry contexts. In contrast, Global Business Services, which oversees HR, finance, and IT functions – fields with higher female representation – leads the group with 46% women in its top three levels of management. 

 

Initiatives – our actions  

Several targeted initiatives have driven these successes: 

  • Culture-building: Fostering respect through conscious inclusion, allyship and empowerment via knowledge and network-building. 
  • WISTA Sponsorship: Supporting female employees in mentoring, education, and networking through local WISTA organisations. 
  • Global gatherings: Connecting female cadets worldwide to share experiences and feedback. 
  • Cadet programmes: Partnering with organisations such as MANET Pune, a naval education and training academy in India, to empower underprivileged girls in maritime. 
  • Leadership development: Building female leadership through recruitment at all levels, leadership programmes such as NHO’s Female Future, and role-modelling. 
  • Inclusive recruitment: Using gender-conscious job adverts and diverse interview panels to attract women, especially in male-dominated fields like technology. 

 

The road ahead 

With gender diversity firmly embedded in its ESG strategy, Wilhelmsen is well-positioned to continue advancing toward the goal of 40% women in leadership by 2030. Looking ahead, the group will focus on further strengthening inclusive practices and addressing areas where progress has been slower. Key challenges include increasing the representation of women in offshore roles, where female seafarers remain underrepresented, as well as attracting more women into traditionally male-dominated fields such as technology and operations. 

 

Why WISTA? 

Broadly speaking, maritime has lagged when it comes to gender diversity. According to the IMO, women make up just 29% of the overall maritime workforce, 20% of national maritime authorities, and less than 2% of seafarers worldwide. As such, initiatives such as the WISTA pledge are a necessary push for change in, what has been, a male-dominated industry. 

The Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) advocates for women in maritime through lobbying and workplace support. They offer mentoring, networking, and education to women working in maritime, helping to retain and enable them at work. For that reason, aligning with WISTA is a natural extension of Wilhelmsen’s focus on both attracting and retaining female talent. 

 

To get the latest on gender diversity, stay tuned for the Wilhelmsen group’s upcoming annual report, scheduled for release in March 2025. 

 

Adenike Knudsen, Senior Vice President Sales and Customer Service, Wilhelmsen Ships Service, previous Board member of WISTA Norway, in 2023 organised a Shipping 101 breakfast event aimed at empowering women in maritime with knowledge and context.

Michela Sasdelli, Fleet Service Manager, Wilhelmsen Ship Management, part of the current Board of WISTA Norway, organised visits onboard the ships Viking Venus and Viking Star in Oslo and Bergen in 2024. 

Siri Jacobsen, Vice President of Customer Experience, Wilhelmsen Ships Service, hosted the 2024 WISTA Mentorship program kick off, together with WISTA Norway. 

Benedicte Teigen Gude, Chief of Staff and Bjorge Grimholt, Executive Vice President Maritime Services in the group management team together with Håkon Lenz, President & CEO Wilhelmsen Ship Management visiting the female cadet programme being run at MANET Pune, a naval education and training academy in India.