About Lou Mitchell
Capt. Mitchell completed all of her training at Warsash Maritime Academy. According to her profile on the International Maritime Mentoring Community:“I am a lecturer at a UK Marine College, lecturing in Chief Officer's Navigation and Structure and Maintenance and Officer of the Watch Marine Law and Management. I spent 10 years with Maersk, from cadet to Chief Officer, spending all my qualified career afloat on container ships. I hold my Masters 3000grt COC and Chief Officer Unlimited COC. I came ashore in 2008 to work for a towage company as marine Superintendent and in 2009 moved into education.“I would like to mentor Navigation Cadets, those studying their Officer of the Watch tickets having sailed as ratings and Junior Officers who are newly qualified. I loved my time at sea, but would have loved to have access to a mentor who wasn't on board the ship, sometimes you just need advice and support from someone who isn't there!”
Introduction
As a Computer Scientist by training, I understand
very well what it is like to work in an industry dominated by males. In
fact, according to the Computing Research Association, in 2006/2007 only
12 percent of undergraduate computer science and engineering degrees
from research universities went to females.
But something very interesting happened when I
became a faculty member of Computer Science at the University of British
Columbia. At that time, there were thirty faculty members in the
department - with only one of them being female. That was not much of a
surprise in a male-dominated discipline. But the really interesting part
was that the lone female faculty member was, in fact, the head of the
department. She (Maria Klawe) was also easily one of the most
intelligent, dynamic, and forward-thinking individuals I have ever met.
She always challenged the status quo, and worked extremely hard to make
every aspect of the department (and of Computer Science as a whole)
better in any way she could. She has continued to do so everywhere she
has gone - including her prestigious (and well deserved) roles as the
Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton
University, and as the President of Harvey Mudd College. Maria was an
early mentor of mine, she encouraged me to teach, she supported me as a
faculty member of Computer Science, and she encouraged me to explore the
area that has become my career - educational technologies. In fact, we
even co-founded a company a number of years later. Maria is the kind of
person who makes everyone she comes into contact with better for knowing
her. Maria’s supportive nature, enthusiasm and drive are incredibly
contagious.
I am telling you all of this because one of the many
things that Maria demonstrated to me was the power of mentoring and
being a role model. Everyone, when they are making career choices, needs
a supportive role model like Maria. Of course, “Marias” do not grow on
trees. Especially female “Marias”. So in addition to the broad impact
Maria has had (and continues to have) on the science and industry as a
whole, it is clear that one of her greatest impacts is, and continues to
be, the impact she is having as a role model for females who are
looking to enter into, or advance within, Computer Science.
Females are Underutilized in the Maritime Industry
The maritime industry is very similar in many
respects. According to a 2008 address by Efthimios E. Mitropoulos,
Secretary-General of the IMO:
“Female seafarers are an
under-utilized, underdeveloped but valuable resource that could provide
part of the solution to the increasing problem of finding sufficient
adequately trained personnel to manage and operate the world's growing
and sophisticated merchant fleet.
“However, it is clear that, to
achieve this, there is a need for changes in attitude towards employing
women as seafarers; recruitment of women in the shipping sector
generally; and increased maritime training opportunities for women.”
Underutilized indeed. According to a 2009 interview with Sarah Finke of the International Transport Workers’ Federation:
“We estimate that there are around 23,000
women seafarers worldwide, representing a low 2 percent of the total
workforce, and clustered disproportionately in the ferry and cruise
sectors, and in service roles. The total number is slowly increasing, as
is women’s representation in the ranks of ships’ officers and masters.
But it is an unacceptably slow process …”
So what can be done about this? Clearly this is a
multi-faceted issue which requires a broad, systemic approach to
address. However, as Maria taught me, one of the key pieces to the
approach is the availability of role models for those females who are
looking at the maritime industry as a possible career. Without such role
models, females are required to be pioneers establishing new ground.
Even with role models, this is still true to some extent, but the role
model demonstrates the viability of the career choice, and provides a
precedent for success. If we can take the role model one step further
and turn them into a mentor, then you have the “Maria effect” - a
supportive success whose drive and enthusiasm are contagious.
Female Role Models and Mentors
This is one of the main reasons that I started the International Maritime Mentoring Community.
And I am very pleased to say that of the 4,000 years of combined
maritime industry experience available there for the taking, a large
number of those years come from female mentors.
In this article, I’d like to introduce you to one of
those “supportive successes whose drive and enthusiasm are contagious” -
Capt. Lou Mitchell. Capt. Mitchell is a mentor who has volunteered to
be a part of the mentoring community. Read about her below, and then feel free to join the community and connect with mentors such as Capt. Mitchell and others.
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