In June, the world fills up with celebrations for the world’s LGBTQ+ communities coming together and celebrating the freedom to be themselves. Pride in itself is rooted in the arduous history of minority groups who have struggled for decades to overcome prejudice and be accepted for who they are.
At Hafnia, standing up in solidarity for what Pride represents is only natural based on our unique culture and working environment created over the years, anchored in our business strategy and vision. Hafnia is always committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Equity (DIBE) where our employees feel valued, inspired, fulfilled, and fairly treated at work regardless of their background. We embrace differences in age, nationality, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability/disability, background, and other characteristics that make our employees unique. We believe the collective sum of our individual differences represents a significant part of our company culture, and that a true cultural melting point is what contributes to our people-first and market-leading position. We invite diverse thoughts, ideas, and perspectives and we strive to make sure people can be their true selves at work. In 2022 our annual employee survey demonstrated that 93% of our employees feel they can be themselves at work and whilst these results are largely positive – we know we still have a lot more growing to do.
Realizing differences and being accepting of them is important but is not enough. Initiatives for a working environment where people always feel that they are included and belong is an ongoing effort on “people-first”, inherent in all organizational processes and strategies.
Part of accepting diverse thoughts, ideas, and perspectives also means reflection and identifying where thinking beliefs, and the acceptance of a norm may not be aligned individually throughout a unified company culture. As a sector, Maritime, like many other industries is notoriously known to be one of the many workplaces where inclusion and acceptance of people from the LGBTQ+ community is still not at the level it deserves. According to Pews Research, different countries across the world have different maturity mindsets when it comes to a 100% acceptance rate. Furthermore, literature also indicates that homophobia continues to persist in the maritime industry at large both onshore and at sea, – where it is sadly still prevalent that sexual orientation and gender identity is hidden in the workplace, or a conception that this is a separate element of one’s self – due to the fear of being fired, experiencing violence or harassment, or facing gender inequality
Hafnia’s culture is to always accept and have a respectful stance towards all employees so that everyone feels comfortable expressing their true selves without facing any form of discrimination.
In recent years, Hafnia has reviewed all its written platforms, such as policies, internal systems, job titles, and descriptions, etc. to ensure proper use of language in gearing it towards a more inclusive and neutral space. DIBE policies, Code of Conduct, and Anti-harassment, and Anti-Bullying policies are regularly revisited, with employees receiving refreshers on acceptable behaviors in the workplace and Hafnia’s zero tolerance for violation of policies.
During Pride month, Hafnia has taken the opportunity to drive conversations on the cultural significance of Pride, providing employees with information on Pride, its history, what it means, and how it aligns with Hafnia’s values. Whilst a lot more work needs to be done in our industry to bring it closer to a 100% acceptance rate, we are proud of our unique and diverse culture and look forward to continual growth and improvement in this area in the years to come.
Share on social