Marjolein van Gennip, Group SHEQ Manager at Smit Lamnalco
On this website, women from the maritime sector share their stories. This is the story of Marjolein van Gennip.
What kind of work do you do?
I ended up in Safety, Health, Environment & Quality through my work as a radio operator on board, followed by several years in chartering and operations. That experience showed me that I enjoy analyzing problems and figuring out how to use systems to prevent issues (accidents). That’s what I do now.
Does being a woman play a role in your studies?
Of course, we women at the Maritime Academy were the odd ones out, although there were four of us in a group of 17 when I started the radio telegraphy program. That was exceptionally high. I haven’t worked on board for years now, but the situation there hasn’t changed much. In the office, you run into the usual “women’s issues”: getting paid less and the misplaced notion that you need a Rituals gift set on Women’s Day.
I remember one incident from the beginning of my career very well. For my first job, I got a call from a temp agency. The man (let’s call him H) had a job for me, but the company in question wasn’t very keen on women. So he had told them I’d worked for him before, which wasn’t true—I’d never even met him. For that reason, they were willing to give it a try. I was called in for an interview and led into a room with four men, none of whom I knew, though I was supposedly supposed to know one of them. One of them stood up and shook my hand, introduced himself, turned to the other three, and said, “Well, you already know H, of course, so let me introduce my colleagues.” That’s how I got my first job. I was supposed to be gone for a maximum of two weeks but ended up staying on board for more than three months because I couldn’t be relieved.
What do you like most about your job?
Most people have no idea, but shipping is the best-kept secret in the world. You come into contact with so many different cultures; it’s very international, you visit exotic places, and there’s always something going on (especially in SHEQ!). Personally, I love that my work allows me to make a difference in promoting safer working conditions and better-organized processes. You also always learn something from accident investigations—not just on a technical level, but also in psychological and social areas (behavior, interactions between people). That makes it incredibly multifaceted. I’ve been working in shipping for 30 years now, and things still happen that I’ve never experienced before.
I’ve been working in shipping for 30 years now, and things still happen that I’ve never experienced before
