Women Officer Network wins Seatrade Cruise Award!

Last week at Seatrade Cruise Med, our Women Officer Network (W.O.N.) stole the show by taking home the winning trophy for the 2024 Seatrade Cruise Awards Investment in People category! We’re thrilled to be recognised for our shared commitment to empowering our women officers and cadets fleetwide.

Louise Sara, Fleet Captain and Director of Maritime Standards at Carnival Corporation, said:

“Congratulations to everyone involved in the network who’s helped to make this happen. So many of you have been involved in one way or another – mentors, mentees, speaking on panels, participating in interviews, sharing stories and facilitating workshops! Without your support we couldn’t have done it, so thank you.”

Simon Ashwell, VP of Corporate Affairs for Carnival UK, represented the company to receive the award. Simon said:

“Our success depends, in large part, on the skills and contributions of our team members. We want to extend our sincere gratitude to each and every cadet and deck officer who strives to make Carnival Corporation and our cruise lines a diverse, inclusive, and safe workplace.”

How our Women Officer Network (W.O.N.) is making a difference

Launched on International Women’s Day in 2023, W.O.N. is a formal mentorship program and online platform where women-identifying and non-binary officers across our nine brands can connect and share experiences, seek advice and excel their careers at sea.

W.O.N. is open to more than 1,100 women-identifying maritime officers – including deck, technical, environmental officers, and cadets – across our fleet. The network has hosted multiple events, such as coaching sessions on unconscious biases and forums on how we can encourage more women to join maritime roles on board our ships. Additionally, it has increased visibility across our brands for women to connect in similar positions across the fleets. Women can more readily seek advice from others on how to navigate their career growth or how to balance growing their family while building a career at sea.

Louise Sara, Fleet Captain and Director of Maritime Standards at Carnival Corporation, is the woman behind this initiative. Louise created W.O.N. to inspire young women and connect current officers through role modelling and mentoring so they can visualise their full potential and seek growth opportunities in their careers.