CMA CGM Sets Goal of 1,000 Women at Sea by 2030

CMA CGM, the Marseille-based container shipping company, has increased its long-term targets and now plans to have 1,000 women serving at sea by the end of 2030.

This update follows strong results from the company’s She Sails initiative, which has doubled the number of female seafarers in its fleet since the program began.

Launched in December 2024, She Sails was designed to expand opportunities for women across CMA CGM’s vessels. In its first year, it raised the number of female seafarers from 200 in 2024 to 403 by the end of 2025, marking growth of more than 100 percent.

The program brought together a network of 42 ambassadors in 19 countries and established new collaborations with maritime academies. Three agreements have already been finalized, one in Abu Dhabi and two in India, with additional partnerships underway in the Philippines and Indonesia to support cadet recruitment.

These efforts led to 74 promotions in the past year. Among them were 8 advancements to senior officer roles, 48 promotions from cadet to junior officer, and one upgrade from deckhand to qualified deckhand, a first for the company.

Christine Cabau Woehrel, the Group’s executive vice president in charge of operations and assets, said: “In just one year, our program has proven its effectiveness: the results exceed our expectations. More women are accessing key positions, their career paths are accelerating, their confidence is growing, and our teams are gaining in both diversity and performance. These achievements are a source of pride, but above all a responsibility: to continue our efforts, to go further, and to make equal opportunities a lasting reality across all our teams.”