A mere 2 per cent of ship’s officers are women, but not at Celebrity Cruises. The line that made history hiring the first female American captain, Kate McCue is about to have its first ship sailing with an entirely female bridge and officer team.
As part of Celebrity’s #BRIDGEthegap program that now sees women in 22 per cent of bridge staff, Celebrity Edge will sail with an all-female officer team representing 17 different nations.
This historic sailing on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2020, will see Capt. McCue at the helm and 26 other women on the leadership team, along with Celebrity’s president and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo.
“We are fortunate to have many incredible, experienced and beyond-qualified women who have worked tirelessly to achieve these positions. And we also celebrate the many men who continue to support them and help champion having more women crew onboard,” Lutoff-Perlo said.
Since 2015, Celebrity has raised the percentage of qualified women on navigational bridges from 3 per cent to 22 per cent, notes Patrik Dahlgren, senior vice-president of global marine operations for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “Now, we hope this all-time industry-high will continue to grow; we just need more women to raise their hands for careers at sea, especially in engineering.”
During the round trip from Ft. Lauderdale to the eastern Caribbean, Celebrity is curating unique specialty programming, including evening gallery exhibitions and art auctions featuring female artists and a cinema series featuring iconic and impactful female directors.
