ABSTRACT
Shipping has consistently contributed to the Greek economy raising the profile of Greece internationally. In the last 17 years 39 Greek owned shipping companies have been listed in global stock markets. At the same time a plethora of empirical research on corporate governance continues to study the gender diversity in the boardroom as it has been widely accepted that boards in many industries are male-dominated. Women in leadership positions remains an issue of concern, given that an increasing number of women are in the workforce, but only a small percentage holds positions in the upper echelons of the organisation. The current article attempts to discuss the findings of the Hellenic Observatory of Corporate Governance (HOCG) for the period 2001- 2017 and give a deep insight on the board characteristics of these Greek listed companies. Special emphasis will be given on the presence of women in the board of directors. Possible reasons why women’s access to board seats has been limited will be discussed and practical suggestions to the shipping owners will also be offered.