The Women’s Maritime Association (WMA) formed in 1980 as a support network for seafaring women. The WMA’s mission is “to support and encourage women’s activity in their maritime occupations and in their respective maritime unions and to take whatever steps necessary to insure women’s right to work, free of harassment.”* Although based in Seattle, Washington, WMA members hail from across the United States as well as several other countries. The WMA represents and supports women who work on fishing boats, processors, tankers, tugs, research boats, deep sea merchant ships, ferries, Navy and Coast Guard ships.*
Since its inception, the Women’s Maritime Association has sought to promote strong community among women engaged in traditionally male-dominated maritime work, while advocating for fair working conditions, knowledge of health and safety issues and, especially, an end to sexual harassment and discrimination on vessels. With the enactment of the Sexual Abuse Act in 1986, vessel captains were required to report allegations of sexual abuse and harassment to the US Coast Guard. WMA has continued to advocate for stronger legislation to eliminate problems of sexual harassment and abuse at sea. In 1988, the Congressional General Accounting Office (GAO) undertook a two-year study to examine the problems experienced by women working on the high seas. The Women’s Maritime Association urged members who had experienced harassment at sea to write about their experiences and submit those testimonies. The GAO study resulted in two official reports to Congress titled “Coast Guard: Information Needed to Assess the Extent of Sexual Assaults on Ships” and "TUNA/PORPOISE OBSERVER PROGRAM: More Needs to Be Done to Identify and Report Harassment of Observers.” The reports urged the Coast Guard to take action in monitoring harassment onboard ships, and to provide more effective training and better reporting procedure to combat sexual assault.
* Source: Women's Maritime Association website, www.womensmaritimeassoc.com.
The Women’s Maritime Association (WMA) records consist of administrative and legal records, newsletters, and clippings which span the dates 1980-1999. The records document the concerns and activities of this Seattle-based organization, established in 1980 to protect the rights and safety of women working in the maritime industries.
Administrative records span the period 1980-1999, and include correspondence between the WMA and affiliated organizations regarding public relations and outreach work. The records also contain membership materials, historical information, materials from the WMA Texas Chapter, and information on affiliated organizations.
Legal records span the dates 1988-1992 and document the WMA's work to strengthen legislation protecting women in the workplace. The records reflect the WMA's mission to eradicate sexual harassment and abuse on ships, and to ensure equal pay and fair working conditions for seafaring women. The materials include the General Accounting Office's 1988 report to Congress regarding sexual harassment at sea.
Newsletters date from 1980-2013 and represent the official publication of the WMA. Newspaper clippings date from the 1980s to the 1990s and document WMA activities, members, and issues related to women in non-traditional jobs and sexual harassment in the workplace. There are also a number of articles about sexual harassment and rape cases on ships throughout the world.
Reference materials consist of publications about WMA activities and some of its members. They also document important issues such as sexual harassment, fair working conditions, and networking and community-building among women in non-traditional jobs.
The Women's Maritime Association records are organized according to the following series arrangement:
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Women's Maritime Association records, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.
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The records were donated by the Women's Maritime Assocation in 2000 and again in 2006.
The Women in the Commercial Fishing Industry Research collection at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies contains related material.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.