Odfjell VP corporate HR Ingjerd Nettestad and CSO Øistein Jensen said they’re taking measures to increase diversity at sea and ashore at the company.

One example of this is changing the wording in job postings. Chemical tanker carrier Odfjell has found that easy-to-miss details in job postings can be crucial in getting more women to apply.

Odfjell has now changed the wording in job postings, a change that has led more women to apply and get to the first stage of interviews.

Odfjell’s total staff currently counts around 34 percent women, but the number varies greatly depending on departments in the organisation.

The overall goal is to have a distribution of no less than 30 percent women in each department by 2030. This does not, however, apply to job positions at sea.

“We use a decoder, a language wash, on our texts to see if it is aimed at one gender over another and to ensure that it is neutral. Then we adjust the text accordingly. When we enter the market and realise that we don’t receive a diverse pool of candidates, we postpone as much as possible. The process is then repeated with different wording through new channels, and we use networks to spread the text. We are doing everything we can to ensure that both genders are represented,” said Ingjerd Nettestad.

Odfjell is now working on bringing in more cadets from schools. They are currently in a recruitment process and expect 25 percent of new cadets, hired from now until the spring, to be women.

The company points to research which shows that increased diversity goes hand in hand with both problem solving and innovation, so it doesn’t make sense to limit recruitment.

For more information visit www.odfjell.com

15th April 2021