Gender Gap in offshore oil jobs

Well-paid jobs are luring more women to the rigs and vessels that draw oil from the ocean floor more than 300 kilometres east of St. John’s, N.L., but life offshore is still very much a man’s world.

At any given time there are more than 700 workers toiling in all kinds of weather at the major Hibernia, Terra Nova and SeaRose sites. Only about five per cent of them are women, and even fewer hold jobs outside of housekeeping or the kitchens, says the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

And while government and industry efforts to boost those numbers have seen more women enter training that could lead them offshore, there are persistent barriers. They include the stark reality that many women with young children can’t see themselves working a schedule of three weeks on, three weeks off that takes them away from home for six months of the year.

And then there’s the prospect of being surrounded by men for every hitch at sea. Women are often expected to share rooms with men, sleeping on opposite shifts, and there are few female washrooms on vessels and platforms designed for a vastly male workforce.

“Generally I find there’s definitely more good than bad,” said one woman who has worked at several offshore installations and who spoke on condition she not be identified.

Housekeeping and catering jobs can pay more than $60,000 a year, and salaries increase for skilled trades.

“It’s not partying. You’re out there to work,” she said. “You’re working 12 hours a day.

Choosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from

via Women still far outnumbered in offshore oil jobs | CTV News.