LIFT OFF TO LEADERSHIP - Advancing Women in Aviation - Oliver Wyman
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LIFT OFF TO LEADERSHIP Advancing Women in Aviation
Lift Off to Leadership
CONTENTS
3 4 7 10
Foreword Executive summary Introduction In vs. out culture
16 22 23 28
Leadership Abundantly visible Uncompromising The mom factor
course correction champions
30 32 33
Final thoughts Endnotes Acknowledgments
2
Lift Off to Leadership
FOREWORD
Welcome to Lift Off to Leadership, back, the time has never been better in the survey and the women we
a study by Oliver Wyman and the to take action to ensure women are interviewed who shared their
International Aviation Womens welcomed, valued, retained, and valuable experiences.
Association (IAWA) on the leadership promoted like their male colleagues.
experiences of aviation women. We also are in the process of
For decades, the aviation industry Our goal with this report is to provide expanding this survey to include
has been challenged in attracting an understanding of the systemic more participants in Europe and
and retaining diverse employees. differences influencing women’s the United Kingdom. If you might
And below the surface, a wider gap aviation careers and guidelines for be interested in participating,
exists: A substantial lack of women in sustainable change. Until aviation please go to this link.
leadership positions — an alarming addresses the full range of barriers
situation that has persisted for far that are keeping women from
too long. succeeding, the industry not only will
be at a disadvantage in the battle for
Bobbi Wells
This report provides insights on the talent, but its ability to survive, thrive, President, International Aviation
aviation leadership experiences of and manage risk will be in jeopardy. Womens Association
women versus men and what might
be limiting women from consideration We hope you find this report
for larger and more challenging thought-provoking and welcome
roles. With aviation in restart mode your comments. We thank the 450+ Oksana Bardygula
and looking for fresh ideas to build women and men who participated Vice President, Oliver Wyman
3
Lift Off to Leadership
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
The aviation industry lags behind why that number is not increasing — numbers at mid-career. This creates
many others in terms of gender Oliver Wyman and the International a leadership gap, which aviation
equality and inclusivity. Women Aviation Womens Association (IAWA) must address by focusing on the
currently hold only 14 percent of undertook a survey of 450 women challenges that arise throughout
C-suite roles and account for just and men in aviation leadership roles women’s careers. We identified
three percent of CEOs across the top and interviewed successful female three areas in particular where
100 aviation organizations worldwide. leaders. This research provided meaningful and lasting changes are
As a result, aviation is missing out on specific insights into the disparate required to impact gender balance
critical leadership talent. Attracting, experiences of women and men as and inclusivity: escalating culture
retaining, and promoting the most each group progresses through their change, redesigning systems, and
diverse workforce possible is vital to aviation careers. closing the sponsorship gap.
the industry’s future sustainability,
performance, growth, and safety. Our study found that women face
more barriers than men from the
To understand why there are so few start of their careers and consider
women leaders in aviation — and leaving the industry in larger
4Lift Off to Leadership
NAVIGATING A and diversity goals that are tied True improvement requires bringing
TOUGH TRAJECTORY explicitly to incentives. Embedding women into the conversation.
inclusive leadership at all levels and Women must have a greater presence
Today’s aviation industry culture addressing the systemic issues at play and voice in revamping aviation
does not enable women to thrive will help ensure aviation welcomes and culture and ensuring leadership
in their careers. Relative to men retains the best talent. programs address real barriers.
in the industry, women report Top leaders must take responsibility
more negative experiences, slower for implementing, tracking, and
career advancement, and fewer WOMEN PLANNING THE championing new programming and
opportunities to take on senior or FLIGHT PATH be ready to quickly change tactics if
challenging roles tied to the bottom initiatives are not delivering results.
line. As a result, women are more Aviation’s existing inclusion and diversity
likely to consider leaving the industry programming is clearly ineffective in
than men and to be pushed out by creating an environment that attracts SPONSORS PROPELLING
negative experiences, rather than and retains women and helps develop THE CLIMB
pulled away by new opportunities. their careers. Since aviation leadership
is predominantly male, men most No one achieves a senior leadership
Aviation organizations must make frequently decide what initiatives will position without sponsorship
inclusive leadership a requirement enhance gender balance. Women support. Women are often not part
from the top down. Senior leaders in often are left out of conversations of informal networks and groups
aviation must commit to leadership about why they join, remain in, or leave dominated by men and so have
gender balance as a priority, build the industry, as well as what solutions greater difficulty developing the
a culture that deliberately includes are needed to address their unique trust and relationships that would
women, and set leadership inclusion career development needs. otherwise arise naturally from such
5Lift Off to Leadership
networks. Increasing the number successful industry women we spoke prioritization and commitment from
of women at the top requires more with consistently pointed to powerful the very top of each organization,
targeted and deliberate effort on the male sponsors as critical in their starting with the CEO and senior
part of senior aviation leaders. development/career trajectories. leaders, who must make inclusion
and diversity business priorities. The
Aviation must double down on industry cannot afford to continue
sponsorship, by developing formal A LAUNCHPAD FOR TODAY to lag in this area. Without taking
sponsorship programs that explicitly action now, aviation faces a highly
serve women and encouraging The aviation industry was not built competitive environment, a shrinking
leaders to diversify their advocacy. with women in mind but now faces talent pool, and a loss of access to
Although coaches and mentors an imperative to develop a more the innovation, creativity, and risk
have value, only sponsors can help sustainable workforce, elevate the management that more diverse
women identify career-enhancing industry’s safety record, and deliver leadership provides. The future of
opportunities and advocate on their better performance by committing to the aviation industry is at stake.
behalf; the role of sponsor must the changes needed to bring about
be specific and distinct. The most gender balance. This will require
“The aviation industry is not sustainable if more than 50 percent
of the population doesn’t see aviation as a successful career.
There are just not enough men to fill the aviation industry’s
needs. This is important, because our industry drives GDP.”
Airline General Counsel
6Lift Off to Leadership
INTRODUCTION
Despite several decades of effort, sustainability and that could improve To understand why the number of
the aviation industry still has too performance, enhance safety, 4
women in aviation leadership is
few women in management and strengthen decision making, and
5
not increasing, Oliver Wyman and
leadership. In the US labor force, contribute to growth. the International Aviation Womens
women account for 31 percent of Association (IAWA) surveyed 450
general/operations managers and Not only are there fewer women in aviation leaders, of which 75 percent
28 percent of chief executives. In
1
aviation leadership, women in the were women, at all levels — front
aviation, however, women hold only industry face more barriers than line, mid-level, senior, and C-suite
10 percent of C-suite roles (excluding men from the start of their careers. (Exhibit 1).6 We then conducted
human resources) at the top 100 Women are promoted more slowly follow-up interviews with female
airline groups globally. And while
2
and consider leaving the industry in leaders to gain more insight
women account for 6.4 percent of larger numbers mid-career. Without into the experiences of women
CEOs across the S&P 500, they make women at the top, obstacles for as they progress through their
up just three percent of airline CEOs. 3
women are often unknown and go aviation careers.
As a result, the industry is missing out unaddressed, thus perpetuating
on talent that is critical to industry the problem.
7Lift Off to Leadership
“A shift in culture is required that can’t be legislated, and it needs to be top
to bottom. Our workforce is more diverse, but this ‘peters out’ as you go
higher up. There needs to be a willingness to set standards and metrics that
drive progress. What does the candidate pool need to look like? How do we
source the candidate pool and ensure the process is not driving them away?”
Managing Director
US-Based Airline
Exhibit 1: Selected survey demographics
In percent
Age range
34 33 19 9 3 1
50–59 40–49 30–39 60+ 20–29
Parent/Caregiver status
40 30 14 8 5 3
Co-parent, partner No children Co-parent, partner Single Other
works full time at home parent
Ethnicity
76 7 5 4 4 3 0.5
White Black Asian Arab
Prefer not to say Hispanic Mixed
Source: Oliver Wyman/IAWA Lift Off to Leadership Study
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The survey and interviews Redesigning systems for balance: network. Equally, train and hold senior
underscored critical barriers and Deliberately include women leaders accountable for the diversity
potential solutions that could (especially from underrepresented of their sponsees and the intentionality
help redress gender imbalance in groups) in developing solutions to of their sponsorship choices.
aviation leadership. As discussed in achieve gender balance in leadership.
the following sections, the aviation It is important that women’s voices, Ultimately, real change requires that
industry needs to move quickly and sharing lived experiences, inform the top leadership treat inclusion and
proactively to address these key areas: development of targeted initiatives diversity as a business imperative and
that specifically address women’s create accountability for real results.
Escalating culture change: Create a career development needs. Our research and recommendations
more inclusive culture from the top are discussed in detail in the following
down: make inclusive leadership a Closing the sponsorship gap: Ensure sections, offering actionable and
requirement, prioritize gender balance women and men fully understand meaningful steps that could deliver
as a strategic imperative, build a the role of sponsorship and that tangible results and make a difference
culture that pointedly includes women, women have a clear line of sight on in the leadership journeys of women
and explicitly track and incent change. how to develop sponsors within their in aviation.
Aviation’s current gender balance,
particularly in leadership, is simply
“I want to hear a public declaration that we support equity, equal not acceptable and compromises the
representation, etc. I think those things are great, but I want them industry’s ability to field the best possible
to put skin in the game. I want my organization to lead this effort, not talent. Industry leaders must commit
to changing organizational and cultural
me. If it picks up the mantle, others will follow suit.”
norms and promoting environments
Programming Director where women feel welcomed, are
Air Traffic Control valued, and can be successful.
9INvs.
OUT Women and men experience their careers in aviation differently — from their
earliest days in the industry to the most senior levels. Overall, women report slower
CULTURE
career advancement and fewer opportunities to take on senior roles tied to the
bottom line. They are more likely to feel pushed out of the industry because of
negative experiences. To reap the benefits of diverse talent, leaders must take a hard
look at aviation systems and culture to identify and eliminate behaviors and values
that favor one gender over another.
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Women are underrepresented Both the women and men we surveyed Exhibit 2: Why women and men consider
across the aviation industry, but the report receiving encouragement and leaving aviation
Survey responses by gender
gap widens with seniority. Leaders recognition in their careers, although
often bemoan a lack of women men’s overall experiences are more Percentage of men and women who have considered
leaving the aviation industry
candidates for senior positions, positive. Positive acknowledgement
but this may be due in part to the and reinforcement early on make a
premature exit from the industry difference: Nearly two-thirds of female vs.
of many talented women: Of the survey respondents who have reached
women we surveyed, 59 percent senior leadership or C-suite level roles
59% 45%
have considered leaving aviation. report being encouraged to go after
“stretch” roles early in their careers,
Top reasons for considering leaving
Talented men leave as well, but at compared to about half of women
lower rates and for different reasons: who are still in front-line and mid-level 01 Implicit bias 01 Interested in another
discrimination career/industry
Women are more likely to be pushed leadership roles.
out because of adverse experiences, 02 Lack of career 02 Lack of career
opportunities opportunities
while men are more often pulled away Unfortunately, early support for
by the lure of better opportunities women does not appear to be
03 Lack of flexibility 03 Insufficient pay
(Exhibit 2). Addressing the negative sustained, as less than 30 percent of (work/life balance)
experiences and greater obstacles to women in senior leadership and less
career advancement women face is than 40 percent in C-suite roles report Source: Oliver Wyman/IAWA Lift Off to Leadership Study
critical to retaining and growing the receiving encouragement in the latter
talent the industry urgently needs. part of their careers.
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Exhibit 3: Negative experiences throughout a career “We need to take the opportunity to showcase
Percent of survey responses by gender
our abilities in public areas, so that people can
My views dismissed or statements interrupted
80 see us as the right person and not just the token
68
woman. Sometimes gender does bring the best
Receiving vague feedback
75
qualifications, because of our experiences.”
70
University Department Chair
Uncomfortable/reluctant to take time off for family obligations Aeronautical Science
74
66
Overlooked for an opportunity
70
62
My contributions attributed to another colleague
69
61 Compared to men, women are ideas dismissed or misattributed, to
more likely to encounter a range of being viewed as overly aggressive
Told that I was too aggressive
55 negative experiences throughout or subjected to non-inclusive norms,
38 their careers (Exhibit 3), with some women’s negative experiences add up
Subjected to non-inclusive norms becoming more pronounced at over the course of a career. Exhausted
46 senior leadership levels, such as by the additional energy needed to
30 the feeling of being overlooked confront these challenges while trying
for opportunities (71 percent for to push through to leadership roles,
Women Men
women versus 54 percent for men). mid-career women often consider
Source: Oliver Wyman/IAWA Lift Off to Leadership Study From being interrupted and having opting out entirely.
12Lift Off to Leadership
Exhibit 4: Women in leadership: Although survey respondents, prioritization of, involvement in,
differing perspectives regardless of gender, were aligned and recognition of senior executive
Survey responses by gender
in how deliberately and actively they support to change the status quo
approach career planning, a third (Exhibit 4). Women are more likely to
Women are about twice of women report taking longer to prioritize representation of women in
as likely to consider
representation of women vs. reach leadership positions relative leadership but are less likely to have
in leadership positions
an essential priority 42% 23% to their peer group. By comparison, a role in improving representation.
92 percent of men surveyed advanced Men on the other hand are more likely
more quickly or at the same pace as to believe that the representation of
Women are less likely to
their peer group. women in leadership roles is already
feel they have a role in
initiatives to improve 50% vs. 70% well supported.
women's representation
in leadership positions Similarly, while women and men
aspire equally to career advancement, Further, senior executive
women are more likely to believe compensation typically is tied to
Women are less likely to
feel highly or extremely that opportunities to take on new metrics around company values
supported by senior 30% vs. 63% roles will be limited, particularly if and high-level goals, yet 93 percent
executives in improving the
representation of women those roles involve profit and loss of survey respondents do not
in leadership positions
responsibilities (for example, as a know if there is a link between
business unit or function leader). compensation and their company’s
Source: Oliver Wyman/IAWA Lift Off to Leadership Study stated inclusion and diversity
In addition, significant gaps exist goals. This lack of transparency
between women and men in their undermines accountability.
13“There is a need to plan succession
with diversity, instead of waiting
for the next leaders to apply.
Even individuals six years out,
you need to have mentorship
for those individuals. If you are
putting diverse candidates into
your succession plan, then you
are intentionally thinking about
this change.”
Vice President
Aircraft Engine Manufacturer
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RECOMMENDATION that their organization’s current both explicit and implicit — and make
MAKE INCLUSIVE
leadership style negatively impacts systemic changes to remove the
women being promoted to senior potential for bias that can adversely
LEADERSHIP leadership roles. Leadership styles
that are inclusive and collaborative
impact women’s careers.7
A REQUIREMENT are most effective at building
engagement and high-performing
As an example, salaries for new
hires should be based on a fixed set
teams — and preferred by those we of gender-neutral criteria and not
surveyed, regardless of gender. former salaries, to avoid proliferating
women being paid less. Similarly,
An inclusive culture supporting career Adopting leadership models explicitly promotion criteria and processes
advancement for all, with equal centered on gender-neutral traits should be explicitly stated to avoid
opportunity for women, starts at levels the playing field in terms of unwritten rules and hidden barriers.
the top. Organizations can explicitly identifying, evaluating, and promoting Finally, gender balance targets must
define and train all leaders on what effective leaders. At the same time, be set, tracked, and tied to incentives
it means to be an inclusive leader companies can demystify career for leaders, including compensation
and how to build and benefit from advancement and make desirable and promotions.
diverse teams, by recognizing each leadership traits more known and
individual’s unique skills, needs, and explicit — helping to shape culture,
lived experiences. expectations, and behavior at every
level of the organization.
Leadership traits must be redefined
in a way that is gender inclusive. In addition, organizations must
Most survey respondents believe acknowledge and address bias —
15LEADERSHIP
COURSE Existing inclusion and diversity programming is clearly
CORRECTION
not working, given the low number of women in aviation,
particularly at leadership levels. Women must have a
greater presence in the rooms where decisions are made
and a voice in the design of initiatives that are intended to
address their unique career development needs.
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Over the past decade, aviation has put Exhibit 5: Accessibility of women’s career and leadership initiatives
significant energy and investment into Average of survey responses by gender
inclusion and diversity programming. Clear process to report harassment Gender diversity goals for leadership
3.8 2.3
Our research suggests that men in
4.5 3.8
the industry broadly believe their
Paid family leave Formal mentoring for women
companies are doing a good job of 3.6 2.2
4.1 3.7
offering effective and accessible
Inclusion and diversity training for all Requirement for women on shortlists
programs to help develop and 3.5 2.2
promote gender equity (Exhibit 5). 4.4 3.7
Women acknowledge that these Leadership development for all Explicit paths to advancement
3.2 2.1
programs exist, but their experiences 3.9 3.5
don’t necessarily reflect that such Flexible or remote working options Formal coaching programs for women
initiatives are effective. 3.3 1.9
3.8 3.6
Inclusive leadership programs for all Women-only leadership development programs
The bottom line is that policies alone 3.1 1.6
4.0 2.7
do not change behavior: There is a
Implicit bias education for leaders Manager rotation programs for women
clear disconnect between the intent
3.1 1.5
and the impact of efforts designed 4.0 2.9
to encourage and elevate women. Informal mentoring for women Subsidized or onsite daycare
2.9 1.4
Leaders must acknowledge and 3.8 2.2
understand this disconnect so that Sponsorship programs for women
they can better address systemic 2.3
3.8
issues and develop more effective
career programs for women.
Women Men 1: Does not exist 3: Exists, minor barriers to use 5: Well established, no barriers to use
Source: Oliver Wyman/IAWA Lift Off to Leadership Study
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“Start with the pipeline and be intentional. Younger women don’t
think they have a place in aviation until they see it — for example,
that ‘you can have this job and be a mom’.”
Vice President
US-Based Airline
There also is misalignment on what they face. These include sponsorship programs not targeted specifically to
should be the top priorities for programs explicitly for women and women tend to ignore them.
women’s leadership programming. flexible/remote working options that
Given that today’s aviation leaders make work more feasible. Overall, women over age 50 value
are predominantly male, the most inclusive leadership and leadership
prevalent initiatives are those that There are generational differences development programs without
men believe will solve (or have already to consider as well. Women under regard to gender. However, women
solved) the problem, such as clear age 40, who are more likely at an over 50 who have not moved beyond
processes to report harassment and earlier stage of their careers, most front-line or mid-level leadership
paid family leave. These are certainly value formalized, consistent support, roles place a higher value on formal
important, but they are viewed by in the form of specific sponsorship sponsorship. Given that most women
women as “table stakes” — not as for women, formal mentoring, do not have an opportunity to be
true game-changers that can enable and explicit paths to advancement sponsored through natural affinity
their success. Instead, women want a (Exhibit 6). Younger women do not or alliances, formal programs could
systemic focus on growth that takes believe these initiatives are sufficiently bridge the gaps that leave many
into account the unique barriers accessible. They also report that locked out of advancement.
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“Invite us into the room. Allow Exhibit 6: Women’s preferred initiatives to improve gender balance,
by generation
me to provide feedback and Ranked based on survey responses by women only, selecting all that apply
not just be a person that Initiative Women aged 20–39 Women aged 50+
‘checks the box’.” Sponsorship programs for women 1 7
Paths to advancement are written and 2 14
Manager explicitly communicated
US-Based Airline Formal mentoring programs for women 3 9
Informal mentoring for women 4 5
Well communicated and consequential 5 2
processes for reporting discrimination,
harassment, or other negative experiences
Requirement that women candidates be 6 10
considered for all senior roles
Formal coaching programs for women 7 8
Implicit bias education for leaders 8 11
Flexible or remote working options 9 4
Paid family leave 10 6
Inclusion and diversity training for all employees 11 12
Gender diversity goals, with specific metricsfor 12 13
senior leadership representation
Leadership development programs for all 13 3
Women-only leadership development programs 14 16
Subsidized or onsite daycare 15 17
Inclusive leadership programs for all leaders, 16 1
irrespective of gender
Manager rotation programs for women 17 15
Source: Oliver Wyman/IAWA Lift Off to Leadership Study
19“There is a focus on promoting leaders
from within, but always focused in
certain and the same areas. There
needs to be a talent identification
process that looks with an inclusion
and diversity focus to promote from
different areas of the company.”
Managing Director
US-Based Airline
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RECOMMENDATION Our survey findings indicate there It is important to recognize that while
BRING WOMEN INTO
is a need to design career support women’s experiences need to be the
initiatives that proactively target basis for inclusive programming,
THE CONVERSATION diverse female talent and focus on
their needs at every career level.
this does not mean defaulting to “by
women, for women,” without visible
Equally critical is acknowledging male leadership and endorsement.
existing programs that are ineffective. Development teams should be
Women must be involved in representative and diverse, but
The aviation industry and its developing and evaluating diversity senior management must lead from
programs and processes continue and leadership initiatives, to ensure the front, with responsibility for not
to be largely designed by men. This that they reflect women’s unique only establishing initiatives but for
means that even if there is a desire to needs and viewpoints — and so will tracking progress against goals and
make the industry more inclusive, it be specifically effective for women. being accountable for solutions if
can be hard to know what to change programs fall short.
if the people in charge cannot “see” Aviation organizations also must
what’s wrong — because it’s not creatively educate leaders on the
wrong for them. Only by openly reality of the status quo and what
assessing systems change with both must be done to change it. This
genders represented are permanent could range from focus groups
culture shifts likely to happen. and task forces to simply getting
Without women at the table, obstacles out into the organization and
to their success will be difficult to asking directly: “What is it like for
understand and the best solutions will you at this company? What works?
remain out of reach. What’s difficult?”
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ABUNDANTLY
more touchpoints to reach employees This is not a zero-sum game — where
and customers. Every one of those someone must lose access to allow
VISIBLE moments is an opportunity to reflect
the organization’s culture — such as
new voices at the table. Instead, it
is an opportunity to expand the size
who is included and who is not. of the table. Whether that’s adding
additional panelists to a presentation
Aviation needs to use all available or recognizing new positions on
To accelerate culture change, an platforms to make it clear that an executive team, expanding the
intentional push is needed to make women belong everywhere in the diversity of voices in the room brings
women abundantly visible in the industry as equals and that they are fresh perspectives and experiences
industry and their voices in leadership valued by the organization, up and that can only add value.
discussions the norm — not the down the line. A concerted effort
exception. This can be accomplished must be made to bring women into Representation also is important to
by purposefully making women the boardroom to address senior developing the pipeline of women
more publicly present, such as on leadership on important topics who might be interested in entering
interview panels, delivering keynote (and not just gender topics) and to the industry. By seeing people like
presentations, being profiled in ensure the organization knows this themselves as abundantly visible, both
company communications, presenting is happening. The purpose of these broadly and in leadership, women in
to the Board and C-suite, and leading efforts is to create an environment all walks of life might better perceive
challenging projects. where it is normal to see both women aviation’s career possibilities.
and men in all different areas making
With today’s social media and digital equal and valuable contributions to an
reach, aviation leaders have many organization’s success.
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UNCOMPROMISING
CHAMPIONS A message that came through clearly and repeatedly in our
study is that advocacy matters. Both women and men value
sponsorship, mentorship, and coaching, but women have
greater difficulty accessing these resources. Increasing the
number of women at the top of the industry both requires
more explicit sponsorship of women and the greater
involvement of all senior leaders in sponsorship.
23Lift Off to Leadership
“I had champions that saw my potential, who had a seat at the table,
who helped build the network that let me in — mostly men.”
Vice President
Aircraft Engine Manufacturer
No leader rises to their role unaided: Sponsorship involves in-depth, putting their personal clout on the
C-suite leaders across industries proactive support and advocacy. line. Without aviation leaders who
cite the critical role of mentors and Because sponsors speak out on behalf are willing to be advocates, women
sponsors who aided them in their of their sponsees, sponsorship is most fail to get the necessary visibility and
journeys to the top. Yet women in critical for women seeking senior support required to advance to the
aviation often lack access to the leadership positions or access to the top echelons.
relationships that are vital to career C-suite. Only sponsors can advocate
advancement, including coaching, with key influencers and act as a guide Unfortunately, 65 percent of the
mentorship, and sponsorship — to challenging roles or projects. women we surveyed have never had a
each of which provides a somewhat sponsor. Survey respondents of both
different kind of support. The role of sponsors is often poorly genders cite a lack of sponsorship as a
defined or confused with mentorship, top-three career challenge for women
Coaching generally focuses on typically leaving women “over- in aviation. Both women and men also
developing specific competencies. mentored and under-sponsored.” 8
agree that investment in sponsorship
Mentoring provides a sounding board Essentially, women receive lots of programs should be the top industry
for ideas and longer-term knowledge advice but not the direct and vocal initiative to improve the retention
transfer/personal skill development. support that comes from a leader and advancement of women.
24Lift Off to Leadership
Exhibit 7: Share of leaders who view themselves “Men advocate for each other and not for
as role models for women
Percent of survey respondents by gender women. If you don’t have an advocate, you don’t
96
98 99 go anywhere. If men do advocate for women,
92 it is middle management jobs and not senior.
82 82 Promotion is based on who you know.”
71 Manager
US-Based Airline
60
A related problem is the specific lack more explicit programming. But the
of male sponsorship for women. gap widens alarmingly at the C-suite
Women in aviation leadership level, where women need sponsors
almost universally view themselves and advocates the most. Too often,
as role models for junior women leaders choose to sponsor those
and seek to extend a helping hand who have similar backgrounds,
Front-line Mid-level Senior C-suite (Exhibit 7). It is heartening that a interests, and experiences. But in
leadership leadership leadership and above large share of men in our survey choosing sponsees that are too
at most leadership levels also view homogeneous, leaders risk further
Women Men
themselves as potential role models marginalizing women (and other
Source: Oliver Wyman/IAWA Lift Off to Leadership Study for women, laying a foundation for underrepresented groups).
25“The help has to come early, so that you don’t feel
alone. You don’t look like the people at the top, so
there is an assumption you don’t work like them
either. Official mentorship is big.”
Managing Engineer
Airport Infrastructure
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RECOMMENDATION build strong bonds and set these the lack of women at the very top
DOUBLE DOWN
relationships up for success. Given rungs of aviation limits women’s
the stagnant state of gender balance access to influential backers, meaning
ON SPONSORSHIP in aviation leadership, formal
sponsorship programs require
that male leaders must be part of the
solution. Successful senior industry
immediate over-investment to drive women we spoke with consistently
measurable results. pointed to powerful male sponsors as
critical to their career trajectories. The
Senior leadership also should be best sponsors boldly advocate, put
To achieve an increase in sponsorship trained and encouraged to diversify aside traditional networking avenues,
for potential women leaders, their informal networks and to and are intentional in supporting their
organizations should implement become more intentional about who sponsees’ career advancement.
formalized sponsorship programs they sponsor and how they structure
targeted specifically at women. These their sponsorship activities. Without Notably, while sponsorship provides
programs should describe the role this intentionality, too often leaders significant value to the sponsee, these
of and expectations for sponsors, unconsciously lean on affinity bias, relationships are not a one-way street:
educate women on how to cultivate sponsoring those who look like Sponsorship can give leaders a better
and build sponsorship networks, and themselves or who share common understanding of what is working and
create opportunities for women to hobbies (such as networking at the what is holding talented women back.
work with senior-level sponsors. golf course), which can leave women Leaders can then use that information
out of the mix. Instead, leaders should to evolve the culture and organization
Simply assigning sponsors without create opportunities to get to know in innovative ways, as well as to
a broader program often leads more diverse sponsees. strengthen their own followership and
to ineffectual relationships and leverage across the organization.
sponsors in name only, while Although women sponsoring and
intentional programming can help mentoring other women is valuable,
27Lift Off to Leadership
THE MOM
For women in the aviation industry, Working mothers that we surveyed
motherhood often brings about prioritize sponsorship programs
FACTOR negative experiences at work. The
upward career path for women in
targeted to women and flexible
working options as critical to their
aviation is a narrow one; even more success. Learnings on remote
so if women have childrearing or working from the COVID-19
caregiving responsibilities. When pandemic might be a basis for
putting the recommendations of this successfully incorporating more
study into practice, leaders must flexibility into scheduling, hours,
Exhibit 8: Women’s parental status by seniority avoid addressing the challenges of and location of work, which could
Percent of female survey respondents only one subset of women. ease the burden for working
Front-line leadership mothers and make aviation
55 45 Working mothers and caregivers careers more attractive.
face an amplification of barriers and
Mid-level leadership
a lack of flexibility to accommodate Changes to help working mothers
78 22
both career success and family life. are likely to benefit all parents and
Senior leadership
As shown in Exhibit 8, while many caregivers. But given that family
69 31
women in front-line leadership may pressures and expectations are
not yet be mothers, the majority in still greater for women than men,
C-suite and above mid-level leadership are. Yet women organizational changes should focus
53 47 with children do not move on to more first on increasing the ability of all
senior roles at the same rate: Childless women to advance their careers in
Parents Non-parents women in our survey were a third the industry.
more likely to reach C-suite positions
Note: Excludes women who did not describe their parental status
Source: Oliver Wyman/IAWA Lift Off to Leadership Study compared to mothers.
28“It is a male-dominated workforce, and
we still expect women to be the primary
caretakers for elderly parents and
children. Perhaps we can’t see ourselves
moving up because we have these other
things to take care of. Organizations and
society are not designed to support us in
dealing with these competing priorities.”
General Manager
US-Based Airline
29FINAL
THOUGHTS The aviation industry is behind other industries in advancing
women into leadership. To reverse this trend and maximize the
rewards of a more diverse culture, aviation leaders must embark
on an accelerated and intentional program of systemic change.
Aviation’s success in the critical area of safety is a leading example
of how intentional programs can be implemented to drive
superior results.
30Lift Off to Leadership
The industry’s trajectory toward and then making a real commitment progress and pivot as needed. That
gender balance in leadership will and investment. same rigor applies to diversity goals.
be defined by the priority, focus, Beyond representation at every level,
behavior, and choices made by C-suite Assign accountability: Clearly progress indicators could include
leaders. The CEO owns the culture of assigned accountability must cascade the number of women candidates
the organization; creating an inclusive across the business. Gender balance considered for open positions, the
environment where all employees can targets must be defined and tied to percent of diverse sponsees each
thrive can only be a CEO-led initiative. incentives, including compensation senior leader develops, or how many
This report showcases actions that and promotions. direct operating or profit and loss
could help increase the number roles are led by women each year.
of women in aviation leadership. Embed change across the business:
Ultimately, however, only leading Inclusion and diversity must be Aviation’s efforts up to now to address
from the front and treating inclusion embedded in processes and culture gender balance have been ineffectual.
and diversity as a business priority across the business, not left to human A stronger commitment is needed:
will truly unlock change. resources alone or a special interest Industry leaders must begin making
group. Leaders at all levels should be the hard changes required to bring
As with any business priority, to realize tasked to “build a balanced bench,” more women into the industry and
meaningful and sustainable change expand the talent pipeline, and support keep them there. The inclusion
in women’s leadership roles, aviation women’s advancement through of women across aviation and in
organizations and leaders must: deliberate succession planning. All aviation leadership is imperative to
projects and teams should have the industry’s long-term success.
Declare your ambition: Organizations an explicit goal of representation,
must determine what success looks including in their leadership.
like and work toward it. This includes
publicly making gender balance a Measure impacts: Critical to any
priority, setting targets and timelines, business goal are metrics to track
31Lift Off to Leadership
ENDNOTES
1 US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Women in the Labor Force Databook, April 2021.
2 Lewis Harper, Women have 14% of top airline jobs in slow trend towards parity, FlightGlobal, November 23, 2020.
3 Ibid.
4 On the link between safety and inclusion, see, for example, Creating inclusion, Angie Peacock, Aerospace Magazine, Royal Aeronautical Society,
May 2018.
5 As an example, a study by Cloverpop that analyzed 600 business decisions made by 200 teams found that inclusive teams made better decisions up
to 87 percent of the time.
6 The majority of survey respondents were from North America, but an expansion of the survey to other global regions is underway. This report will be
updated in a future release to reflect regional differences. Note that there are important nuances in the experiences of underrepresented groups of
women, such as women of color in certain geographies and LGBTQ+ women, that warrant further and deeper exploration to ensure the leadership
track is open to all.
7 Generally, “explicit bias” refers to people being aware of and acting on their prejudices and attitudes (overt discrimination); “implicit bias” is
unconscious but can lead to decision making based on stereotypes or outdated norms.
8 Herminia Ibarra, A Lack of Sponsorship is Keeping Women from Advancing into Leadership, Harvard Business Review, August 19, 2019.
32Lift Off to Leadership
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Oliver Wyman
PROJECT LEADS
Oksana Bardygula Katherine Nylander
Vice President Global IDB Manager
CONTRIBUTORS
Adriene Bailey Sumati Sharma
The project team would like to thank the individuals Partner Partner
who participated in the survey and interviews Lindsay Grant
that were the basis of this report, as well as those Engagement Manager
who informed the project’s approach, supplied
information, provided ideas, and reviewed drafts. International Aviation Womens Association
Their support and insights were invaluable. PROJECT LEAD
Bobbi Wells
For more information about this report, American Airlines and
President of IAWA
please contact:
CONTRIBUTORS
Oksana Bardygula
Crystal Barrois Alina Nassar
oksana.bardygula@oliverwyman.com
Delta Air Lines Nassar Abogados
Lauren Haertlein
Bobbi Wells
General Aviation
info@iawa.org Manufacturers Association
We are continuing to gather survey responses for Editing and Design
Europe and the United Kingdom. If you might be Rebekah Bartlett Daniela Romo
interested in participating, please go to this link. Senior Editor Designer
33About Oliver Wyman Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. With offices in 61 cities across 30+ countries, Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation. The firm has more than 5,000 professionals around the world who work with clients to optimize their business, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. Oliver Wyman is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies [NYSE:MMC]. For more information, visit www.oliverwyman.com Follow Oliver Wyman on Twitter @OliverWyman About the International Aviation Womens Association IAWA is an international organization for women who hold positions of impact in the aviation and aerospace industry. Founded in 1988, IAWA brings together women of achievement and promotes their advancement throughout the world. Through annual global conferences, regional receptions, and connects, IAWA provides a forum to share views on matters of importance to the industry, as well as to women in general. IAWA members serve as role models for other women seeking advancement and growth in the industry. We also encourage young women to enter the aviation and aerospace industries through IAWA’s Scholarship Program. For more information, visit www.iawa.org. Copyright ©2021 Oliver Wyman All rights reserved. This report may not be reproduced or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the written permission of Oliver Wyman and Oliver Wyman accepts no liability whatsoever for the actions of third parties in this respect. The information and opinions in this report were prepared by Oliver Wyman. This report is not investment advice and should not be relied on for such advice or as a substitute for consultation with professional accountants, tax, legal or financial advisors. Oliver Wyman has made every effort to use reliable, up-to-date and comprehensive information and analysis, but all information is provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied. Oliver Wyman disclaims any responsibility to update the information or conclusions in this report. Oliver Wyman accepts no liability for any loss arising from any action taken or refrained from as a result of information contained in this report or any reports or sources of information referred to herein, or for any consequential, special or similar damages even if advised of the possibility of such damages. The report is not an offer to buy or sell securities or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities. This report may not be sold without the written consent of Oliver Wyman. Oliver Wyman – A business of Marsh McLennan www.oliverwyman.com
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