Malaysia Airlines pledges to create more opportunities for female staff by 2025 to boost gender balance

PETALING JAYA, Feb 18 — Malaysia Airlines has pledged to create more career opportunities for women in the male-dominated aviation industry by 2025.

The national carrier has joined hands with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to boost gender balance in the industry through the 25by2025 initiative.

The voluntary initiative calls on all aviation stakeholders to strengthen and improve female representation in the industry by 25 per cent or up to a minimum of 25 per cent by 2025.

Thus far, 57 signatories worldwide have committed to the initiative which serves as the aviation industry’s platform to share best practices and monitor industry metrics annually to accelerate the creation of a gender-balanced workplace.

IATA hopes to increase the number of women in top senior positions within the industry by 2025.

The trade association also wants to see more women participating in IATA events, panels and conferences and those appointed to IATA’s governance roles up to a minimum of 25 per cent with a focus on gender-based parity in the long run for the industry.

Malaysia Airlines seeks to use the 25by2025 platform to further create a positive, encouraging and rewarding work experience for its staff as part of its long-term vision for the future.

The airline said in a release it is committed to increasing the representation of women in the workforce, especially in underrepresented jobs such as engineers and pilots.

It also said female staff and new employees will be given more opportunities when it comes to applying for senior management roles across the airline.

“Malaysia Airlines and all sister companies under the Malaysia Aviation Group celebrate diversity and drive equality in gender, race, religion and age at all times,” Malaysia Aviation Group group chief executive officer Izham Ismail said.

“We also uphold meritocracy to ensure every woman and man have equal opportunity to advance in their career on the merit of their abilities.

“To achieve this, we must consciously avoid stereotyping a job to a particular gender, which tends to be a norm in a male-dominated industry.”

Izham said the airline strongly believes talented female employees should be given an equal chance to explore new job opportunities and make their mark.

“I am hopeful that by committing to these goals, the diversity we create can spur further innovation and growth for the airline and industry at large, making the future for us all that much brighter.

“I look forward to working closely with IATA on this to help our women soar ever higher,” Izham said.

IATA regional vice president for Asia Pacific Conrad Clifford said he is delighted to welcome Malaysia Airlines to the 25by2025 initiative, adding that gender balance and diversity contribute to an organisation’s success.

“By joining 25by2025, Malaysia Airlines is also signalling its commitment to advancing the role of women in the airline industry.

“Seven airlines in the Asia Pacific region are participating in 25by2025.

“I encourage more airlines in the region to join this important initiative,” said Clifford.