The Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter to launch Korn Ferry gender balance report at virtual "What's Your Passion?" event

11TH November, 2020: The Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter is launching its new gender balance report by Korn Ferry, at a live, virtual event taking place today from 10.30 to 11.30am GMT. The Charter commissioned global organisational consulting firm, Korn Ferry to create a report analysing the lack of gender balance in the aviation and aerospace sector. Over the last year, Korn Ferry has surveyed 1,500 people across and outside of the sector to gain insights into their experiences and identify trends.
 
Anne‐Marie Taylor, Associate Client Partner at Korn Ferry and co‐author of the report, says: “The report will reveal the findings of our research and give tangible examples of how the aviation and aerospace industry can better work to address imbalance. The FA’s focus on the girls’ and women’s game provides a powerful example of how it is possible to drive change through commitment, leadership and investment.”
 
Confirmed speakers at the event include: Robert Courts MP, Minister for Aviation and Maritime; Baroness Sue Campbell DBE, Director of Women’s Football at The FA; Anne‐Marie Taylor, Associate Client Partner at Korn Ferry; and Sumati Sharma and Jacqueline Sutton, Co‐Chairs of the Charter. The keynote speeches will be followed by a live Q&A, during which attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions to the speakers.
 
Robert Courts MP, Minister for Aviation and Maritime, whose speech will focus on the importance of gender diversity for the industry, commented: “It is clear to everyone that businesses and teams across every sector are more successful when they are diverse and inclusive. This landmark report from the Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter and Korn Ferry clearly highlights where in the aviation and aerospace sector imbalances remain, and draws on cross‐industry best practice to deliver guidance on how these inequalities may be addressed. It is now our collective responsibility to ensure the report’s findings do not go to waste.”
 
Baroness Sue Campbell DBE, Director of Women’s Football at The FA, who will discuss how passion and purpose are at the heart of any successful inclusion strategy, says: “I have witnessed first‐hand at The FA the power of committed, focused and passionate leadership to deliver lasting change. I urge leaders across the aviation and aerospace sector to study this report and take its findings seriously, because a genuine and constant passion for improvement, coupled with meaningful investment and resource, are essential to building a diverse and inclusive industry.”
 
Susan Schofield, VP Strategy Civil Airframe at GKN Aerospace, who is the report co‐sponsor, says: “At GKN Aerospace we are committed to diversity and inclusion. Gender balance is about recognising what each individual can bring to the table. Technology is changing and growing, and in tomorrow’s business we need to be able to demonstrate a wider range of skills, styles and experiences, to embrace different ways of working. Gender balance is essential and instrumental to achieve our goals.”
 
Sumati Sharma and Jacqueline Sutton, Co‐Chairs of the Charter, say: “The founding aspiration of the Charter was to build a fair and equal aviation and aerospace industry for all. This report provides us with a measure both of what has what has been achieved and of what remains to be done. It is absolutely essential for the industry to come together at this point, to acknowledge what we do not do well enough, and to recommit, at an individual and organisational level, to doing whatever is required to build the diverse and inclusive industry we not only want but need to see.
 
“Finally, we would like to thank the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy for cosponsoring the report with GKN Aerospace and for sponsoring the launch event.”
 
The event will also formally welcome The Jet Business as the Charter’s newest signatory and the 217th company to sign up to the Charter in just over 2 years.
 
The event will include a 2‐minute silence at 11.00am to mark Remembrance Day.
Please visit the WIAAC eventbrite page to register.
 
The report will be available to download here from 10.30am on 11th November.
 
‐ENDS