The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu says women’s rights, are of foundational importance to broader collective and global efforts for sustainable development. Dr. Liu made this remark while addressing the members of the Women in Aviation International’s India Chapter.
The Secretary General’s comments focused mainly on the significant gender equality challenges still facing the air transport sector, and the opportunity to address current imbalances as the sector pivots and recovers from COVID-19.
“While it is becoming more common to see women in positions of power and prominence, in both the public and private sectors, we still remain under-represented in most professional, leadership, and decision-making categories. In the aviation sector more specifically, which is highly technical and specialized, there’s still lots of work ahead to address the gender gap – even as we continue to respond to a global pandemic,” Dr. Liu notes.
She emphasize that the UN’s Agenda 2030 for sustainable development reflects this by featuring a suitably prominent, comprehensive, and cross-cutting commitment to gender equality, and that in global air transport the significant impacts now being seen sector wide could provide excellent opportunities for initiative and advancement, especially given the incredible era of innovation that has begun to transform our expectations for global and personal mobility.
“Women in aviation must be prepared and confident, and ready to bring their talents and ideas to the forefront to help lead the air transport, tourism, and hospitality sectors to the new futures which await them,” Dr. Liu adds.
“As medical conditions permit, we must work to accelerate the sector’s recovery in every world region, and to bring prosperity and sustainability back to the countries and populations who rely on air transport and tourism for their basic economic survival,” Dr. Liu concludes.