Kenya Airways sign up for IATA’s gender equality pledge

 Kenya Airways sign up for IATA’s gender equality pledge

All 19 SkyTeam member airlines have signed up to the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) 25by2025 initiative, as the global airline alliance advocates for greater gender diversity in the industry. The 25by2025 initiative is a voluntary commitment launched in 2019 that seeks to increase the number of women holding senior positions and in under-represented areas by 25 percent or up to a minimum of 25 percent by 2025.

In 2020, after the International Women's Day celebration, Kenya Airways was the first major aviation signatory in Africa of the IATA 25by2025 Initiative. 

The 2019 Stitching Equileap Foundation Report names Kenya Airways among the 5 leading companies with outstanding commitment to workplace gender equality in Kenya. According to the report, six companies (10 percent) have gender balance at the senior management level, with Kenya Airways named the only airline.

Speaking on the initiative, Kenya Airways chief executive officer Allan Kilavuka said, "KQ aims to be a model to Africa and the world. We share the common belief that leveraging the private sector will shape and transform Africa's future and that women must be a part of it. This belief fits well in our purpose of the "Sustainable development of Africa" and aligns well with Sustainable Development Goal No 5, which promotes gender equality."

"Delivering on the commitment to improve diversity and inclusion will strengthen the airline and the entire industry. Being the first major African airline to join 25by2025 sends a signal about the determination of the aviation industry to close the gender gap. And it sets a positive example for others to follow as we continue to expand this critical industry commitment across the IATA membership and beyond," said Willie Walsh, IATA's Director-General.

As of 1st July 2021, female employees across the network made up 39.3 percent of the workforce, with 1,370 women out of the 3,482 employees. As part of the airline's strategy to continue growing the number of women in underrepresented jobs such as pilots, technical, and operations, Kenya Airways continues to train women on leadership every year through the IATA Women in Leadership development training. We are also working to mainstream gender diversity in our talent and leadership development. Kenya Airways has also revamped its internal mentoring programs to be more comprehensive and will continue dialogue on gender balance and women in leadership. We see the participation of our male colleagues as critical to the support and success of our diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda, specifically increasing gender representation across the different areas in the company. 

"The IATA's 25by2025 initiative is vital for the airline, something that mirrors the variety of our customers and is a critical element in our long-term diversity agenda. At Kenya Airways, our ultimate goal will be to be at 50% gender representation as part of a comprehensive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion agenda. We continue to work closely with the industry to close the gender gap and ensure greater representation for women in our industry," said Evelyne Munyoki, Chief People Officer at Kenya Airways.