Blog written by Sumati Sharma, Partner at Oliver Wyman and Founder and Co-Chair for Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter.
Earlier this month, Oliver Wyman and the Women in Aviation & Aerospace Charter hosted a very special private dinner in London, with 25 senior and influential guests attending from industry. It was exciting to finally be able to get together in an intimate setting to reconnect and converse about how to drive greater diversity and inclusion across Aviation and Aerospace in the UK and Europe.
The evening was also a celebration of the Charter’s 3rd birthday and reaching over 240 signatories.
Women are underrepresented in C-suite roles in the aviation industry, only holding only 14% of executive roles and account for just 3% percent of CEOs across the top 100 aviation organisations worldwide. Attracting, retaining, and promoting the most diverse workforce possible is vital to the industry’s future sustainability, performance, growth, and safety.
Oliver Wyman’s recent study with IAWA, Lift Off to Leadership Report, found that women face more barriers than men from the start of their careers and consider leaving the industry in larger numbers at mid-career, resulting in a leadership gap.
It was so inspiring during the dinner to hear from Victoria Foy, Katherine Bennett, Roianne Nedd and Jacqui Sutton. Victoria Foy, our new WIAAC Co-Chair, and CEO of Safran Seats UK shared her observations on “where are we now?” as she joins the Charter at this important time. Hearing her share her personal story and reflections on her journey to CEO was so very inspirational. I am excited on what we will achieve together for the Charter as Co-Chairs in 2022 and beyond.
Picture of Victoria Foy and Sumati Sharma, Co-Chairs of the Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter.
Katherine Bennett, Co-Founder of the Charter and CEO of HVM Catapult, spoke to us about how the WIAAC was founded in 2018, supported by UK Government and announced by Theresa May in July that year at Farnborough Airshow. Taking us down memory lane, when we only had 40 founding signatories at the very start, and giving thanks to the ‘day one’ team members, was a particularly special moment.
Roianne Nedd, Global Head of Inclusion, Diversity & Belonging at Oliver Wyman, shared some of the key findings from Oliver Wyman’s recent Women in Leadership reports, along with why diversity, inclusion and belonging is such a priority for us as a firm, and how we support the aviation industry and organisations globally on this critical journey.
Picture of Roianne Nedd, speaking at the Women in Aviation dinner.
Finally, Jacqui Sutton, our outgoing WIAAC Co-Chair, shared her hopes and challenges for the industry for the years to come. I am so delighted Jacqui will continue to support the Charter as a Non Executive Director, along with Katherine, and continue to share their wise counsel as we enter our new chapter in 2022.
Our key discussion topic for the evening was: “What is the biggest single action we could take to take diversity & inclusion forward in aviation in 2022?”; the key themes which emerged will be used to develop the evolution of our strategy for the Women in Aviation & Aerospace Charter, working with our WIAA Board Members and our >240 signatories on the plans and initiatives. Watch this space!
Thank you to those who were able to join us for this wonderful evening.We had senior leaders from easyJet, Wizzair, Air France KLM, Civil Aviation Authority, Virgin Atlantic, Jetblue, Norwegian, Royal Aeronautical Society, Rolls-Royce, Safran, and more. Being able to reconnect in person felt very special, and we hope to do so again in the near-future. Look out for our videos on the topic being released in the New Year.
Picture of Kirstin Colvile, SkyTeam CEO, being interviewed – more to come!
Despite being only being three years old, the Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter has really driven a lot of traction. We are at the start of the next chapter; I know that by collaborating together we will transform our industry to become more diverse and inclusive for all.