Washington's Strategy for a Blue Economy - Appendix C

Washington’s Strategy for a Blue Economy: Charting a Course to 2050

Appendix C: Whitepaper— Workforce Sustainability in the Washington Maritime Industry

Washington’s Strategy for the Blue Economy | January 2019 Appendix C

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Table of Contents Employment Data

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Interviews

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A Maritime Story

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Equitable Access

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Inclusion for Retention

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Conclusion

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Endnotes

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Acknowledgements

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This report, Washington’s Strategy for the Blue Economy: Charting a Course to 2050, is divided into four sections that can be downloaded individually: • • • •

Strategy Summary Brochure Executive Summary Main Report Body Appendices

The entire report with all sections can be read and downloaded from: https://www.commerce.wa.gov/growing-the-economy/key-sectors/maritime/ https://www.maritimeblue.org Washington’s Strategy for the Blue Economy | January 2019 Appendix C

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WORKFORCE SUSTAINABILITY in the Washington Maritime Industry A Tressa Arbow University of Washington School of Marine & Environmental Affairs

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The Washington state maritime industry1 in 2015 accounted for 69,500 direct jobs, $4.7 billion in wages, and a compound annual growth rate of 1.4% per year2. It is home to the fourth largest container gateway in North America3 and operates the country’s largest ferry system4. In December 2017, Governor Jay Inslee established a year-long task force – Washington Maritime Blue – to develop a strategic plan aimed at making the Washington maritime industry the most sustainable in the nation by 20505. Sustainability6 is usually thought of as built on three pillars - environmental conservation, economic efficiency, and social equity – but it is most commonly framed in terms of impacts on the natural environment. This report examines sustainability through a focus on the social equity dimension as it applies to employment opportunities in the maritime workforce. Equity concerns are explored through a study of workforce diversity in terms of race and gender, as well as through the processes that may foster or hinder inclusion of Washington’s diverse labor force in the maritime sector7.

Key players in a number of industries – including top performers in finance and tech – have drawn on and conducted research that demonstrates that diverse workforces yield higher returns financially as well as in recruitment, productivity, innovation, and workplace satisfaction8. In maritime and ocean governance, evidence indicates that diversity promotes both environmental and workforce sustainability, though gender concerns have drawn more attention than racial and ethnic diversity9. This report combines snapshots of A demographic maritime employment data with qualitative interviews to identify current maritime trends and perspectives on creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable maritime workforce.

Photo courtesy Tressa Arbow

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EMPLOYMENT DATA Much has been written on the economic importance of the Washington maritime industry and on at least one aspect of the demography of its workforce: the increasing age of its workers and the impending “retirement cliff”10. It is possible that the lack of demand for maritime jobs by white males, who have traditionally been the predominant demographic group of maritime workers in Washington, is a primary cause for the aging workforce. Thus, one justification for examining other demographic characteristics of maritime is that recruiting from other sectors of the population, including women and other racially diverse groups, might address labor shortage concerns expressed by industry leaders. Drawing on the research referenced above indicating that a diverse workforce yields both business and social equity benefits, this section provides a snapshot of diversity within the Washington maritime industry.

Using employment data from the US Census Bureau11, the figures below illustrate the race and gender compositions of eight maritime sectors compared to the overall Washington population12. The NAICS codes A provided by the US Census Bureau do not allow all maritime-based jobs to be clearly distinguished from non-maritime jobs, including, for example, iron or electrical work. This analysis is therefore limited only to those subsectors that were unambiguously maritime: •

Aquaculture

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Fishing

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Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging

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Ship and Boat Building

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Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation

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Inland Water Transportation

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Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation

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Water Support Activities for Water Transportation

Employment averages from 2010 were used to align with the most recent US Census Bureau population data.

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Employment Data Percent of each gender by maritime subsector (2010)

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The graph above illustrates the differences between the proportions of men and women in each of the eight maritime subsectors. The shorter the line, the closer the sector is to equal proportions of men and women workers. Scenic & Sightseeing Transportation had the most even distribution of men and women with 53% and 47% respectively, while Fishing and Ship & Boat Building both had the most disproportionate groups of men and women at 88% and 12% respectively.

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Employment Data Percent of each race by maritime subsector (2010)

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The graph above compares the proportions of six race categories in each of the eight maritime subsectors to the proportions of those race categories in the state of Washington. While the figure confirms the dominant narrative that most maritime workers are white, there are some interesting findings. The Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging sector, for example, was unrepresentative of Washington in terms of workers who identify as white (77% in Washington, 63% in Seafood) and those who identify as Asian (7% in Washington, 23% in Seafood). Inland Water Transportation included a larger proportion of white workers (92%) and smaller proportions of all other races in comparison to Washington.

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Employment Data These initial findings indicate that, according to publicly available employment data, most maritime subsectors are not representative of the state of Washington in terms of gender, while some subsectors are more representative of certain races in comparison to Washington. Perhaps more importantly, the lack of publicly available employment data, distinct NAICS codes, or other mechanisms of examining the maritime workforce illustrate the need for more comprehensive data on demographic variables. Without a clear understanding of who is employed in maritime, it will undoubtedly be difficult for decision-makers to know how and where to support workforce sustainability initiatives.

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Photo courtesy Tressa Arbow

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INTERVIEWS Despite the Washington maritime industry’s significant economic impact, history in the state, and direct interaction with highly visible natural resources, some have described it as “the industry hidden in plain sight”. One explanation for this may be related to the traditional hiring preferences of many maritime jobs.

Several interviewees commented on this, noting that the combination of a mostly white male workforce, along with a common practice of filling job openings with current worker’s family members, has likely created a somewhat exclusive, white-male dominated group of knowledgeable, skilled workers. With a looming labor shortage predicted as early as 2025 due to the aging of the current workforce, however, some maritime sectors and employers have already begun thinking beyond historical recruitment practices of familial connections. Even so, diversifying the maritime workforce has been a slow-going process13. To further investigate where the Washington maritime industry stands on efforts to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity, I conducted semi-structured interviews14 with 21 individuals employed and/or engaged in various maritime sector activities, with a majority coming from decision-making and A management roles and workforce development actors. With a goal of creating a purposive sample15 of maritime workers, I made deliberate efforts to interview a variety of people and spoke with a higher proportion of women than is representative of the industry at large. The remainder of this report highlights three themes that emerged from those conversations:

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The Washington maritime industry needs a recognizable story

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Entry barriers prevent equitable access to the industry

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Internal dynamics of maritime culture impact retention of a diverse workforce

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Interviews A MARITIME STORY “We don’t have one big…driving force that’s helping people know who we are” Even to those deeply familiar with the industry, it is acknowledged that the term maritime is ambiguous.

Though it is intended by most to include both seagoing and shoreside work, the average person tends to think of maritime as it relates to sailors or ships. SomeArefer to trucking and other land-based, waterdependent activities when they discuss maritime, while others do not. Maritime also refers to a number of public and private actors, represented and non-represented workers, and several support services that overlap with other industries such as maritime insurance, law, education, and research. The indistinctness of the term and, more so, the industry, is likely the cause for what almost every interviewee emphasized: the public at large, especially those who have not traditionally been represented in the industry, do not know what it means to be engaged in maritime work.

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Interviews a symbol, a story It is widely understood by Washington maritime leaders that the industry is fighting for space in a region that, particularly in the greater Seattle area, is rife with prominent employers such as Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks, and Costco. As a result, decision-makers agree on the crucial need for maritime sectors to cohere around a story and a symbol that the public can easily recognize and relate to.

However, the story of maritime as many people know it – referred to in several interviews as an “old boys club” – will not be sufficient to attract a diverse, productive and effective new workforce. Rather, the maritime story that industry decides to tell should be one that reflects real success stories of diversity and inclusiveness in as many ways as possible, including gender, race, ethnicity, educational level, and home region; and ranging from low-wage, entry level jobs to salary-based careers that require advanced education and training. Maritime careers represent wide range of sea-related activities; it follows that the workforce required to maintain the industry would be as diverse as the jobs found within it.

Additionally, the story of maritime in the state of Washington is one that was built and continues to be influenced by diverse groups at several different points throughout history. A maritime story and symbol that genuinely and respectfully acknowledge the history of tribal entities and contributions of women, A people of color, and other groups may give more Washingtonians a sense of pride in the maritime sector.

intentional partnerships “[We need to link] issues to local economies. There are probably a dozen small communities where fishing vessels call regularly, [and residents don’t] have a clue how hard it was for some of those companies to find workers” A sustainable workforce relies on a knowledgeable public at a range of ages and in as many career stages as possible. While many primary and secondary school students are well-versed in marine and environmental science, climate change, and conservation, they are less familiar with working waterfronts and other maritime jobs and subsectors. Formal exposure to maritime education as a component of K-12 curricula, as well as indirectly through field trips and extracurricular activities that ignite in youth an interest in being on and around water, could be a major catalyst to increasing the numbers of young adults in Washington who consider maritime jobs and careers.

Maritime ambassadors should be intentional and strategic in connecting maritime education to different communities in ways that will resonate with their members, and outreach strategies should include at the forefront partnerships with community leaders and organizations, schools, and other representatives. For example, a rural community may be interested in participating in maritime in ways that differ from those of an urban community, which may differ still from those of a tribal entity. An inclusive and equitable approach that is based on genuine connections with and understandings of various groups throughout the state will mutually benefit the Washington maritime industry and state residents.

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Interviews EQUITABLE ACCESS “That’s daunting. Not only just the complexity of training, but the cost of training.”

Even if maritime were a well-known industry in Washington, interviewees described barriers to entry that create or exacerbate inequitable access to maritime careers. As a result of historical trends and human nature, current maritime workers tend to recruit other individuals that are like themselves. At the same A time, training and credentialing processes have become more complex and cost prohibitive.

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Interviews training and credentials “The state…could play a larger role in having financial grants for individuals – not just have all the funding go to programs – but have a grant program where individuals can seek funding for those kinds of career opportunities.”

The training and certification requirements for some maritime fields, particularly for individuals interested in working at sea, can be prohibitive. From securing funding for training, to obtaining various credentials including a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), to completing sea time, even those sincerely inspired to work in maritime need support navigating the complicated processes required.

Scholarship programs and credential mentors at the individual level for various education and career stages, in addition to school- and industry-specific opportunities, may remove barriers for prospective maritime workers who instead choose to pursue other fields with more straightforward and affordable training requirements.

A Additionally, industry leaders remarked on the need for stronger linkages between training programs, onthe-job experience, job acquisition, and location accessibility for all of the above. While providing training and education opportunities in various places throughout the state is important, these efforts may not be enough in the absence of local internship and apprentice opportunities and other forms of early, on-the-job training. As with the marketing strategy described above, workforce sustainability efforts regarding training and education would benefit from collaboration between maritime decision-makers and communities throughout the state whose locations, resources, history, and culture give them specific strengths to offer certain industry sectors. For example, if a prominent maritime company were to sponsor a few internships for students from a technical school, and that technical school were to partner with a few regionally accessible secondary schools to engage students, the recruitment funnel may widen.

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Interviews representation in industry “There’s nobody that looks like me…there’s no women in this video. But for my whole career, that was my view. That was my lens is that it’s only me.”

“When you are one of a few in an organization, there’s this real cultural divide” “It was difficult to see myself in those roles because there weren’t as many women filling them” Particularly for industry leaders who are women and people of color, conversations often centered around an awareness that, in many cases throughout their careers, they were the only person like themselves at a training or in a job or sector. A sense of isolation affected people in different ways, such as creating a feeling that they have to work harder than others to prove themselves, that they may not be safe in the work environment they would be in, or that their knowledge or expertise may not be fully considered. To avoid losing maritime workers in training and education A stages, instruction, materials, and mentorship should include real maritime women, people of color, and people from various regions, abilities, and backgrounds.

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Interviews INCLUSION for RETENTION “Thick skin should only be applied to the ability to do the job, not the work environment.”

Critical commentary on diversity initiatives have referred to the “add-women-and-stir method”17 as a frequent and fundamental shortcoming of well-intentioned efforts. This concern also surfaced in interviews A and extended to attempts at creating racial diversity as well.

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Interviews maritime culture “I think there’s still an obstacle with respect to the culture on the waterfront. You can look at, for example, [Muslim] truck drivers, the drayage drivers, and the conflicts they’ve had with longshore workers locking them out of bathrooms. Not wanting them to be able to use the same restrooms.”

Both men and women described a range of maritime activities using terms like “macho” and “dirty” and emphasized a workforce pride for being able to withstand extremely challenging work environments. While there is no question that maritime work can be both mentally and physically demanding, there is room for improvement in the way maritime workers, especially women and people of color, are treated while on the job.

Many interviewees disclosed incidents they had endured or witnessed throughout their own maritime careers that tested their resolve to succeed in the maritime industry. Some examples included racially charged comments and jokes, sexual harassment, insufficient protocol and resources to report incidents or ask for help, and being blocked from or not provided with appropriate facilities. While these types of hostile A behaviors are certainly not unique to the maritime industry (excepting the vulnerability created by conflict on underway jobs), the maritime industry is uniquely compelled to make efforts to address them in the face of an impending labor shortage.

upward mobility Some interviewees highlighted Washington State Ferries as an employer visibly dedicated to promoting diversity and retention. Two specific policies aimed at increasing both were the opportunity to return to a position or department with previous seniority after a leave of absence and flexible scheduling for office-based employees.

A growing sense that opportunities to rise through maritime career ranks are fewer and farther between than they once were is also a point of concern. Interviewees referred again to the costs and logistics of maintaining and upgrading credentials, as well as to the lack of options available to a worker who wants to balance career longevity with personal interests such as having children and being near family. This was especially true regarding people in rural communities who may feel as though they are not able to both maintain a maritime career and live in their hometown, as well as for women, who feel faced with a choice between being a mariner or a mother. Creative solutions that enable maritime workers to excel in their careers throughout various circumstances in their lives may result in longer maritime careers to the benefit of the industry and its stakeholders.

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CONCLUSION As the Washington maritime industry embarks on its strategic plan to become the most sustainable maritime industry in the US by 2050, it will be crucial that sustainability goals include providing equal opportunities for different demographic groups in Washington to build a career in the maritime sector. The creation and retention of a diverse workforce is critical to the sector’s long-term sustainability. Research has demonstrated that diverse workforces are not only more profitable, but are also more productive and satisfying places to work. However, attempts to make the workforce look more diverse without addressing the reasons it isn’t will not be enough. Telling a maritime story that is recognizable and representative, removing barriers to entry, and increasing retention are parallel imperatives that will require dedicated leadership, funding, and the endorsement and commitment of Washington decision-makers. Furthermore, efforts to expand current initiatives or embark on new ones should include input from a wide range of perspectives, including women, people of color, tribal entities, managers, community members from throughout the state, and workers from various stages of maritime career trajectories.

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Photo courtesy DNV GL

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ENDNOTES 1 For

the purposes of this paper, I adopt the maritime definition used by the Washington Department of Commerce as seven subsectors: Cargo handling and logistics; Fishing and seafood processing; Ship and boat building, repair and maintenance; Passenger vessel operations; Recreational boating and sport fishing; Military and federal activities through the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA; support industries. See: “Proposed Strategic Plan for Washington State Maritime Sector, 2017 - 2019” (Washington State Department of Commerce), accessed November 18, 2018, http://www.commerce.wa.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2017/01/Sector-Leads-Maritime-Strategy-2016.pdf.

2 “Washington

A

State Maritime Sector Economic Impact Study” (Community Attributes Inc., April 2017), https://www.maritimefederation.com/studies.html.

3 “About

Us,” The Northwest Seaport Alliance, June 11, 2015, http://www.nwseaportalliance.com/about.

4 “WSDOT

- Washington State Ferries Our Fleet,” accessed November 19, 2018, https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/yourwsf/ourfleet/.

5 “Charting

Washington State’s Course to Be Nation’s Most Sustainable Maritime Industry by 2050,” Washington State Department of Commerce, December 11, 2017, https://www.commerce.wa.gov/newsreleases/charting-washington-states-course-nations-sustainable-maritime-industry-2050/

6 For

the purposes of this report, “sustainability” refers to the ability of the industry to maintain its workforce, both in terms of number of workers needed and effectiveness.

7 For

the purposes of this report, “diversity” refers to the extent to which the Washington maritime workforce represents the population of Washington at large with regard to race and gender; “inclusion” refers to an environment in which all workers are valued and have access to opportunities; “equity” refers to structural and institutional barriers, historical and current, that have led to an underrepresentation of certain groups in maritime.

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Endnotes, Continued

8 See:

Vivian Hunt, Dennis Layton, and Sara Prince, “Diversity Matters” (McKinsey & Company, February 2, 2015), https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/organization/our%20insights/why%2 0diversity%20matters/diversity%20matters.ashx; Estela S. Estape et al., “Promoting Diversity in the Clinical and Translational Research Workforce,” Journal of the National Medical Association 110, no. 6 (December 1, 2018): 598–605, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnma.2018.03.010; “Rebooting Representation: Using CSR and Philanthropy to Close the Gender Gap in Tech” (McKinsey & Company, Pivotal Ventures, September 2018), https://www.rebootrepresentation.org/; Rebecca Pearl-Martinez and Jennie C Stephens, “Toward a Gender Diverse Workforce in the Renewable Energy Transition,” Sustainability : Science, Practice, & Policy 12, no. 1 (2016), https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2016.11908149; Susan Reid, “Unfinished Business: Creating a Sustainable Workforce Through Diversity and Inclusion,” Morgan Stanley, accessed November 18, 2018, https://www.morganstanley.com/articles/diversity-story-of-impact.

9 See:

Anna MacNeil and Samrat Ghosh, “Gender Imbalance in the Maritime Industry: Impediments, Initiatives and Recommendations,” Australian JournalAof Maritime and Ocean Affairs; Abingdon 9, no. 1 (2017): 42–55, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/18366503.2016.1271262; Meg R. Keen, Anne-Maree Schwarz, and Lysa Wini-Simeon, “Towards Defining the Blue Economy: Practical Lessons from Pacific Ocean Governance,” Marine Policy 88 (February 1, 2018): 333–41, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2017.03.002; E. Gissi, M. E. Portman, and A. -K. Hornidge, “Un-Gendering the Ocean: Why Women Matter in Ocean Governance for Sustainability,” Marine Policy 94 (August 1, 2018): 215–19, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2018.05.020.

10 “Washington

State Maritime Labor Headed for a Retirement Cliff,” The Seattle Times, August 14, 2017, https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/maritime-labor-headed-for-a-retirement-cliff/.

11 “Longitudinal

Employer-Household Dynamics” (US Census Bureau), accessed November 15, 2018, https://qwiexplorer.ces.census.gov/static/explore.html#x=0&g=0. Because data were used directly from the US Census Bureau, including non-binary gender options was not possible for this study.

12 “Profile

of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data” (US Census Bureau), accessed November 15, 2018,https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.

13 “Maritime

Diversity: How the Industry Is Improving for Women,” Raconteur, October 17, 2018, https://www.raconteur.net/finance/maritime-jobs-women.

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Endnotes, Continued, and Acknowledgements 14 For

the purposes of this report, a semi-structured interview is defined as a “qualitative data collection strategy in which the researcher asks informants a series of predetermined but open-ended questions” (p.

810); “Semi-Structured Interview,” in The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods, by Lisa Given (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2008), https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412963909.n420.

15 T

Palys, “Purposive Sampling,” in The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods, ed. Lisa Given, vol. 2 (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2008), 697–98, https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412963909.n420.

16 All

interviewees were directly engaged in or closely connected to the maritime industry. For confidentiality purposes, quotes throughout the report are not directly attributed to individual interviewees or maritime sectors.

17 Marilyn

J. Boxer, “For and about Women: The Theory and Practice of Women’s Studies in the United States,” Signs 7, no. 3 (1982): 661–95.

A

acknowledgements I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Dr. Eddie Allison, University of Washington School of Marine & Environmental Affairs, for his continuous support and encouragement throughout the writing of this report.

I would also like to thank Joshua Berger, Maritime Sector Lead, Washington Department of Commerce, and Nicole Faghin, Coastal Management Specialist, Washington Sea Grant, for their support and guidance.

I would also like to thank Dr. Ryan Kelly and Dr. Ramon Gallego for their help with employment data visualization, and the SMEA Marina Lab for their encouragement and feedback.

Finally, thank you to all of the interview participants who spent their time helping me understand the maritime industry in Washington, and to the Washington Maritime Blue task force for their encouragement and ideas, and for welcoming me into the strategic planning process.

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