Airlines' gender diversity: Air Canada and WestJet efforts

IATA took a significant step when it unveiled a new '25by2025' policy that urges its airline members to increase the level of female representation in their senior ranks and under-represented positions during the next six years, but the commitment needs to be underpinned by real initiatives designed to break the barriers that prohibit women from rising through the ranks. 

Gender parity is becoming widespread in aviation discourse as airlines work to understand ways in which they can work to enlarge the number of women in their work forces. 

Canada’s largest airlines – Air Canada and WestJet – are keenly aware of the importance of increasing female representation in their executive ranks, but believe that invoking quotas is not beneficial in pushing for more gender equality within their organisations.