Despite progress in improving gender diversity in the aviation sector, equality remains a distant goal, according to figures presented at the International Air Transport Association's annual meeting in Istanbul.
The airline industry has a reputation for failing to achieve gender balance, particularly among pilots, technical and engineering positions, and senior leadership.
In 2019, the airline association launched an initiative named 25 by 2025 in 2019 to improve diversity following allegations of sexism in the industry, but so far only half of its members have signed up.
This year, IATA has been advocating for the initiative, which aims to increase the number of women in upper positions and under-represented areas by 25 percent, or to a minimum of 25 percent by 2025.
Women are still under-represented in aircraft, but they are still valued at the airline industry. We are making progress, said IATA chief executive Willie Walsh.
There were 28 female CEOs in the 300-strong airline group this year, while 42% of the employees at the airlines that signed on the initiative are women.
In this year's selection of Yvonne Manzi Makolo, the CEO of RwandAir, as the chairman of the IATA board of governors, was seen as a step forward.
If you look at the board of directors, the board is mostly middle-aged white men from Europe. We have to strive to improve that situation, Walsh said in 2018, the year before the gender diversity initiative was launched.
At the annual meeting of Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar al Baker said only a man can be a chief executive of an airline because it is a very challenging position. Al Baker apologised for his comments, saying they were a joke and were taken out of context, but they sparked a broader discussion in the industry.
We should not even joke about this, because we're all humans, said Guliz Ozturk, the CEO of Turkey's Pegasus Airlines.
A woman or a man can do everything if he is or she is eligible for it in terms of his or her qualifications, education, or experience as a person. More needs to be done to encourage education support as well as provide mentorship so female candidates can build confidence, Ozturk said.