<p>IATA’s AGM in Seoul this week has, as ever, covered a variety of topics including the usual discussions on safety (always first, of course), the environment, slots and so on. However, the topic which shot up the ‘pecking order’ was diversity. IATA’s Director General and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, explained the need for the industry to give this more attention.</p>
<p>“Our industry is diverse and we need an equally diverse and inclusive workforce to meet their needs. But there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve the balance we need, particularly on gender diversity at senior levels,” de Juniac remarked.</p>
<p>To encourage this, IATA announced the first recipients of its new Diversity & Inclusion Awards, with each winner receiving a prize of $25,000.</p>
<p>The Inspirational Role Model award went to <a href="https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/flybe-ceo-launches-cranfield-scholarship-with-iata-d-458651/">Christine Ourmières-Widener</a>, CEO of Flybe. Although set to step down from her role in July, during her time leading the airline she introduced the FlyShe programme, designed to create opportunities for women. This has received widespread coverage and is recognised as a way to address the future skills shortage in aviation, as the industry has for too long missed out on the talents of women by there not being enough visibility to girls in schools of the careers available to them. As Ourmières-Widener herself proclaims, “Young women cannot be what they cannot see.”</p>
<p>IATA’s High Flyer Award went to Fadimatou Noutchemo Simo, founder and president of the Young African Aviation Professional Association (YAAPA). As part of YAAPA’s outreach programme, Noutchemo Simo helped to create the Heleta Aviation Scholarship Program to encourage underprivileged children in rural areas of Africa to consider aviation as a future career choice.</p>
<p>The final prize – the Diversity & Inclusion Team Award – went to Air New Zealand. The airline created a programme with an initial focus on gender and accelerating the advancement of women. It particularly included a Women in Leadership Program aimed to empower women to realise their full potential while working at Air New Zealand. The airline also created Women in Digital, Women in Engineering & Maintenance and WINGS (female pilots). The overall effect has been to increase the number of females in senior leadership roles at the airline from 16% in 2003 to 42% today.</p>
<p>Christopher Luxon, Air New Zealand’s CEO, was delighted to receive the award but emphasised that much more action is needed, such as men refusing to appear on all-male panels at conferences and other similar events.</p>
<p><img alt="Christopher Luxon" src="/getasset/ec8f6029-99f0-4124-9e1f-828c88e25489/" /></p>
<p>Speaking with <em>Reuters</em> in Seoul, he commented with brutal honesty, “Compared to other sectors and other business sectors that I’m part of around the world and in New Zealand, aviation and IATA’s record is abysmal in terms of gender diversity and inclusion. We are just paying lip service to it at the moment and window dressing it and we are not even doing a very good job of that if we are really honest with ourselves.</p>
<p>“Our industry is diverse and we need an equally diverse and inclusive workforce to meet their needs. But there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve the balance we need, particularly on gender diversity at senior levels,” de Juniac remarked.</p>
<p>To encourage this, IATA announced the first recipients of its new Diversity & Inclusion Awards, with each winner receiving a prize of $25,000.</p>
<p>The Inspirational Role Model award went to <a href="https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/flybe-ceo-launches-cranfield-scholarship-with-iata-d-458651/">Christine Ourmières-Widener</a>, CEO of Flybe. Although set to step down from her role in July, during her time leading the airline she introduced the FlyShe programme, designed to create opportunities for women. This has received widespread coverage and is recognised as a way to address the future skills shortage in aviation, as the industry has for too long missed out on the talents of women by there not being enough visibility to girls in schools of the careers available to them. As Ourmières-Widener herself proclaims, “Young women cannot be what they cannot see.”</p>
<p>IATA’s High Flyer Award went to Fadimatou Noutchemo Simo, founder and president of the Young African Aviation Professional Association (YAAPA). As part of YAAPA’s outreach programme, Noutchemo Simo helped to create the Heleta Aviation Scholarship Program to encourage underprivileged children in rural areas of Africa to consider aviation as a future career choice.</p>
<p>The final prize – the Diversity & Inclusion Team Award – went to Air New Zealand. The airline created a programme with an initial focus on gender and accelerating the advancement of women. It particularly included a Women in Leadership Program aimed to empower women to realise their full potential while working at Air New Zealand. The airline also created Women in Digital, Women in Engineering & Maintenance and WINGS (female pilots). The overall effect has been to increase the number of females in senior leadership roles at the airline from 16% in 2003 to 42% today.</p>
<p>Christopher Luxon, Air New Zealand’s CEO, was delighted to receive the award but emphasised that much more action is needed, such as men refusing to appear on all-male panels at conferences and other similar events.</p>
<p><img alt="Christopher Luxon" src="/getasset/ec8f6029-99f0-4124-9e1f-828c88e25489/" /></p>
<p>Speaking with <em>Reuters</em> in Seoul, he commented with brutal honesty, “Compared to other sectors and other business sectors that I’m part of around the world and in New Zealand, aviation and IATA’s record is abysmal in terms of gender diversity and inclusion. We are just paying lip service to it at the moment and window dressing it and we are not even doing a very good job of that if we are really honest with ourselves.</p>