Celebrating 57 year's of female crane drivers at APM Terminals Gothenburg

In 1965, there was a shortage of labor in Sweden. The port of Gothenburg therefor advertised for housewives to work extra as crane operators at the terminal. 

34-year-old Kerstin Åström, who had a fondness for large vehicles, decided to apply for the job. Together with ten other women, she started working as a crane operator at port of Gothenburg.

“I loved the job as a crane operator. Such a freedom it was ", Kerstin Åström, today 90 years old, comments.

After a few years as an extra employee, Kerstin Åström applied for permanent employment.

“There was a huge opposition to female crane operators at that time and they came up with every conceivable reason why I could not get a permanent position. But I did not give up but wrote a letter to the Swedish Gender Equality Agency," Kerstin Åström shares.

Her efforts paid off and in 1982 Kerstin Åström, as the first female, finally got a permanent job as a crane operator in the port of Gothenburg.

"I was so happy! There was a clear macho culture among the older men, but the younger ones had a positive attitude towards me. I am quite strong as a person and had no problem speaking up when needed,” she says.

"As a woman, you are an equally talented crane operator as your male colleagues. In fact, women often have excellent motor skills and the ability to drive the machine smoothly and safely. I wish we had come further in 2022, with more female crane operators," Kerstin Åström concludes.