Poppy Khoza, the director of civil aviation at the SA Civil Aviation Association (Sacaa), is concerned about the minimal representation of women in the industry.
According to Khoza, the future is bright for women in aviation, however, the misrepresentation and lack of knowledge that cloud the admission of young women dims the light.
She shared that the issue is being addressed through the International Air Transport Association (IATA) 25 by 2025 programme. The programme encourages companies to encourage female representation in senior positions.
“There is evidence that gender diversity and equality of access to information and opportunities is beneficial for businesses and the economy. The common issue that we have found is [lack of] access to information and opportunities within the aviation sector for young women,” said Khoza.
“Part of our responsibility as the industry regulator, through our aviation careers programme, is to educate young girls and women on these opportunities. We also have internships, scholarships, and learnership bursary programmes.”
On Wednesday, the Sacaa hosted the National Aviation Gender Summit to educate and encourage women to grab opportunities in the aviation industry.
Khoza said the aviation watchdog has met its target in bringing on board more women, “more than any other industry”, adding that there is a 49:51 split between men and women at the Sacaa alone, and that black people are dominating the ratio.
“The Sacaa workforce, comprising men and women, is at an average age of 44 years. 92% of employees are below the early retirement age of 55 years while 8%, which represents 43 employees, has reached this age. 21% of employees are the youth.
“There are 51 bursars and interns [who] have benefitted from the bursary and internship programmes.”
She said while Sacaa is pushing the boundaries to accommodate more women, there are still many challenges within the industry, such as gender inequality and transformation.
However, she maintains that this is a global phenomenon.
“Gender inequality remains significant in the aviation sector, particularly in senior management roles, in pilots, in engineers, etc, according to statistics from the IATA. This is not just a South African issue, but a global concern.
“We hosted the first Global Aviation Gender Summit in 2018 where outcomes indicated the need to develop policy and action plans to address the barriers; also the need to accelerate gender equality through partnerships with stakeholders.
“We have also initiated the signing of a pledge by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula and captains of the industry in the aviation space to commit to prioritising women empowerment in their companies. This took place during the 2019 National Aviation Gender Summit,” she explained further.
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