Women In Aviation & Aerospace Charter

The UK’s aviation and aerospace sectors are making a commitment to work together to build a more balanced and fair industry for women by launching a Charter for Women. At Farnborough Airshow 2018, the Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter (WiAA) was launched, with companies and organisations making a commitment to work together to build a more balanced and fair industry for women. With over 100 signatories, the charter reflects the aspiration to see gender balance at all levels across the industry for both women and men in the sector.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Department for Transport (DfT) welcomes the initiative that recognises more needs to be done to greater enhance the gender balance in the sectors. Organisations that sign up to this Charter are committing to be the very best at driving diversity and inclusion within their sector and providing fair opportunities for women to succeed at the highest levels. The Charter reflects the aspiration to see gender balance at all levels across aviation and aerospace. A balanced workforce is good for business – it is good for customers and consumers, for profitability and workplace culture, and is increasingly attractive for investors.

What is the Charter?

• A commitment for organisations to support the progression of women into senior roles in the aviation and aerospace sectors by focusing on the executive pipeline and the mid-tier level.
• A recognition of the diversity of the sector and that organisations will have different starting points – each organisation should therefore set its own targets, where appropriate, and implement the right strategy for their organisation.
• A requirement for organisations to publicly report on progress to deliver against any internal targets to support the transparency and accountability needed to drive change.

What do signatories commit to by signing the Charter?

• Having one member of their senior executive team who is responsible and accountable for gender diversity and inclusion.
• Setting internal targets, where appropriate, for gender diversity in senior management.
• Publishing progress annually against any targets in reports on their website.
• Having an intention to ensure the pay of the senior executive team is linked to delivery against any internal targets on gender diversity and inclusion.

Why do we need a charter?

Women are under-represented in aviation and aerospace, with only 4 per cent of women being commercial pilots, as well as a well-recognised shortage of women studying STEM subjects and taking up roles in engineering. The aviation and aerospace sectors are world-leading, and to sustain this industry we need to ensure that we have access to a diverse range of innovators and leaders of the future.

In working towards achieving gender balance, the WiAA Charter also aims to support and showcase female role models to demonstrate that opportunities are available, regardless of gender.

For more information about the Charter, industry’s commitment to gender balance and the role you can play, please visit The WiAA website