For example, Article 29 defines warships as vessels that are “manned by a crew which is under regular armed forces discipline.” This gendered terminology goes beyond just the seagoing crews UNCLOS articles 62 and 119 refer to fishermen only, excluding the contribution of thousands of women to the fishing sector worldwide. One reason for the continued use of this archaic terminology is embedded in legal instruments such as the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea. space agency, gender-biased terms are still frequently seen in commentary: for example, “manned space missions.” Titanic task of changing terms In the realm of space travel, since the early 21st century NASA has “used and prescribed non-gender-specific terms, preferring such descriptors as human, piloted, and crewed for the former, and unpiloted and uncrewed for the latter.” Despite this conscious shift in terminology by the world-leading U.S. The gender-biased terms “unmanned aerial vehicle” and “unmanned aerial system” are also used. In the field of aviation, the term “drone” has been commonly adopted, and it has been used in some commentary in the maritime context. The issue of gender-biased language is something that the land-based terminology in this field appears to have avoided to a large extent - we do not talk about “unmanned cars,” for example. This development in the usage of gender-neutral terminology is promising and should be replicated by other governmental agencies and commentaries as well as in other fields such as aviation and space. Government Accountability Office report to Congress titled “ Uncrewed Maritime Systems: Navy Should Improve Its Approach to Maximize Early Investments.” While the IMO’s regulatory scoping exercise adopted and predominantly used the neutral term “Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships,” the term “unmanned” still appears several times in the report. Usage of the gender-neutral term “uncrewed” is emerging in some recent literature for example, the U.S. The International Maritime Organization’s “four degrees of autonomy” framework reflects this distinction where a “Degree Three” ship is remotely controlled from another location with no seafarers onboard whereas a “Degree Four” ship is fully autonomous and “the operating system of the ship is able to make decisions and determine actions by itself.” A vessel may be uncrewed but not autonomous, for example, if it is remotely controlled. It is important to note that “autonomous” and “uncrewed” are not equivalent terms. 5 for gender equality, to recognize the contributions and achievements of non-men in this historically male-dominated sector, this article submits that the gender neutral terms “uncrewed,” “crewless” and “autonomous” ought to be preferred in publications, whether from media, academia, government or nongovernmental organizations. In this framework, and in line with the United Nation’s sustainable development goal No. The data demonstrate that existing simplistic assumptions and social stereotypes such as “men at sea and women on land” are no longer sustainable, and such single-dimensional, gendered approaches that only men can be expected to crew a seagoing vessel do not reflect the reality. In a similar vein, in 2019 women were approximately 10% of the British Royal Navy’s workforce, and in that year the Royal Navy was named as one of the U.K.’s top employers for women.
Navy, women represent 19% of officers and 20% of enlisted personnel, and they serve in every rank from seaman to admiral, and in every job from naval aviator to deep-sea diver. Navy’s multiple projects in this area for large unmanned surface vehicles, medium unmanned surface vehicles and extra large unmanned undersea vehicles.Īs one article succinctly points out: “It may be that the 19th century sailing vessel was a male dominated and defined world, yet women are assuredly part of this rich history.” And it is rapidly increasing. The term “unmanned” is entrenched in a number of frequently used acronyms and abbreviations for example, UMV - or unmanned maritime vehicles - and the U.S. A majority of literature in this field from all sources - whether academic, governmental or other - tends to use the gender-biased terms “manned” and “unmanned.”
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