A round table discussion “Women in difficult professions” jointly organized by “Sovcomflot” JSC, FSBO HPE “State University of Marine and River Fleet n.a. Admiral S.O. Makarov” and all-Russian public organization “Russian Federation of Cosmonautics”, attended by a representative of the branch Natalia Belokonskaya – second officer of Mir sailing training ship of the North-West Basin Branch, was held on October 22 in Saint Petersburg.

During the round table there were discussed gender issues on the HR policy of the Russian shipping companies, as well as the status of the shipping personnel market.

Natalia Belokonskaya, as well as Rushania Lezhneva, who spent 15 years working as a pilot navigator and chief assistant to the captain on foreign traffic vessels and is currently working as a VTS operator of the seaport of Kaliningrad in Kaliningrad Department of the North-Western Basin Branch, are a vivid example of the fact that women in the modern world more often choose occupations that are traditionally considered masculine.

Having dedicated their lives to maritime transport and having chosen a challenging profession of a sailor, they by their own example have once again confirmed the thesis that women can fully and successfully work in the maritime industry.