In terms of becoming progressive companies, it would be hard to find two industries with a bigger legacy of gender imbalance than aviation and logistics. Yet the steeper the hill, the higher you climb with each step – and significant progress is being made.
A few years ago IATA launched its 25by2025 initiative to help redress the gender imbalance in aviation. Cathay Pacific was eager to play a part.
‘We had no hesitation in signing,’ says Tom Owen, Director Cargo. 25by2025 signatories commit to a number of steps, including an increase in the number of women in senior and under-represented positions by 25% by 2025. ‘In fact,’ says Owen, ‘we want to better that. We want to be an airline of choice for our people, customers and business partners because of our strong commitment to diversity and inclusion.’
Things are moving in the right direction at Cathay; the Cargo team is 34 per cent female. Back in 2018, when IATA launched the 25by2025 initiative, just three per cent of airline CEOs and COOs were female, and just eight per cent of CFOs. Last year, Cathay upped these stats when Rebecca Sharpe joined the Cathay executive team as Chief Financial Officer.
She is an advocate of eliminating the barriers and biases that deter women from advancing in their careers – so that their skills and experience have the chance to flourish. ‘I have often been the only female in a meeting and in the very early days of my career, lacked the confidence to speak up,’ she says. ‘I believe it’s part of my responsibility to help the organisation improve our gender equality, so that our female leaders are not the only females in the room. I’m committed to working to ensure that Cathay is a place where all women’s careers can thrive.’
