Formal mentoring programs and inclusion of more women in decision making: key actions to attract and retain more women in technical aviation careers

What is the role of women in the aeronautical maintenance area? and what can the Tech Ops sector gain by increasing the participation of women? These were two of the questions addressed by a discussion panel composed of Michelle Linale, Senior Director, Sales & Business Development – Americas’ Region at Thales InFlyt; Liliana Bocanegra, Strategic Sourcing Director at Avianca; Maruja Correa Dirección Técnica Iberia, and Ana Persiani, ALTA’s Training Director and Board Member of the International Aviation Womens Association (IAWA).

This discussion took place during the ALTA CCMA & MRO Conference 2023, organized by the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA), and addressed strategies to attract, retain and develop the trajectory of women in technical careers.

The conversation began with the presentation of the study’s findings, “Lift off to Leadership. Advancing Women in Aviation” carried out by IAWA and ALTA member consulting firm, Oliver Wyman, to 450 executives in leadership roles.

The study found that while the industry has invested significantly in diversity and inclusion programs over the past 10 years, perceptions among men and women are very different about their effectiveness. While men generally believe that their companies are doing a good job in offering accessible and effective programs to develop and promote gender equity, women reflected that, according to their experiences, these initiatives were not as effective.

Therefore, it is critical to involve more women in the conversation, in program design and, most importantly, in decision making. This will make it possible to make significant changes in organizational cultures and implement programs with a real and sustainable positive impact on the professional development of women in the industry.

A major challenge is that currently only 3% of the CEOs of the top 100 global aviation industry organizations are women and only 10% of C-level positions are held by women in the top 100 global airline groups, making it difficult to involve more women in decision making and, consequently, in the effectiveness of existing programs.

Attracting more women to the industry is a key point. After all, as the study shows, the aviation industry is not sustainable if more than 50% of the population does not see it as a successful career. The executives stressed the importance of outreach to educational hubs to inspire young women with stories of achievement and opportunity. They also commented that supporting women in their professional development should not simply be a way of complying with legal or social requirements of diversity and inclusion. Rather, it is essential to look at corporate and labor supply policies with a magnifying glass, since what is sought is to involve more women in jobs for meritocracy, for their value, not because they are doing them a favor or because a number of women must be filled in certain roles.

“It is necessary to challenge hiring policies that seek to fill a number. It is essential to encourage hiring that does not look at gender as a requirement, but rather at experience and the value to be contributed. In this way we will be creating work spaces with leaders who help others to excel and advance in their careers, and the training and experience of women does not depend on gender but on their value as professionals,” Maruja Correa commented.

It is necessary to train all leaders -men and women- on how to build and promote diverse teams, what are the gains for the team and for the company, how to adopt work models explicitly focused on gender-neutral traits.

Then comes retention. The study showed that women feel more negative experiences than men in their work environments and that drives them to leave the industry. While about 60% of women have considered leaving the industry, for men the number is about 45%. Women’s interest is mainly due to implicit bias, lack of opportunity and lack of flexibility. While the main reason for men is their interest in another industry.

It is a matter of organizational culture and company values. In this sense, the female executives also illustrated examples of how the industry is well on its way to diversity and inclusion.

“Years ago, in some work environments gender jokes might have been accepted, but now companies have systems that penalize them and the organizational culture is moving towards environments where everyone can feel comfortable,” Michelle Linale said.

Meanwhile, Maruja Correa brought up the experience in Spain, where men must take the same amount of paternity leave as women. This is extremely positive for the family and for equality of conditions at the working level.

“IAWA has worked in recent years to develop mentoring programs, create the figure of “advocate” including men in leadership positions that support these programs and promote these types of studies to seek joint solutions that allow the continued advancement of women in our industry. José Ricardo Botelho, ALTA’s CEO, belongs to this group of Advocates and it shows the close partnership that exists between both organizations working for a common goal,” Persiani mentioned.

Following this line, Liliana highlighted the advances, “Since I arrived at Aviation I felt absolute respect for my work and I consider that the organization makes a difference. An organization must have leadership that is focused and committed to supporting career development, providing opportunities and retaining talent. At Avianca I felt supported and that drove me into giving 200%. Today we have initiatives such as an airport daycare center that supports women.”

Tener más y mejores programas de mentoría y apoyo para el desarrollo de carrera conducirá a que más mujeres se sientan motivadas a permanecer en la industria y desarrollarse en ella. Es un compromiso de todos y conversaciones como esta avanzan un poco más en la conversación y en lo que debemos trabajar.

Having more and better mentoring programs and career development support will lead to more women feeling motivated to stay in the industry and thrive in it. It’s a commitment from everyone and conversations like this move the conversation forward and what we need to work on.