WORKPLACE
DIVERSITY
LEADING
LADIES
Felicity Stredder spoke to some of air
cargo’s senior businesswomen to ask:
should more women be running the
show in air cargo?
When looking at the
passenger/cargo
divide of the aviation
business, few would dispute
the assertion that the latter
is a male-dominated scene,
while the former traditionally
attracts more women. While
sharply dressed female cabin
crew are in abundance at
airports worldwide, serving
as a constant advert for the
profession and the flashy
lifestyle it seems to entail, the
same cannot be said for the
role of Cargo Ops Manager.
Does anyone even know what
a Cargo Ops Manager wears?
And more to the point, does
it matter?
Though we all like to
think of modern society as
progressive and adaptive
to new norms, in many
ways the world we live in continues to thrive off stereotypes.
A perfect example is the view that cars and planes are “boys’
toys” and manual labour, like that found on the airport ramp,
is “men’s work.” With these ideas ingrained, it’s not difficult to
see how associated job roles came to be thought of as masculine
occupations. Meanwhile, joining this established boys’ club
could well be an intimidating prospect in itself for potential
female recruits.
In reality, however, whether in the office, on the ramp or
in the warehouse, business in the cargo sector is like any other
commercial operation, involving sales, strategy and leadership,
and, as such, it requires a varied workforce to do it justice. Why,
then, does the industry continue to see a deficit of muchneeded
diversity? ALI asked a few high-flying female executives
about their experiences and whether they perceive a deficit.
30 August 2019 www.airlogisticsinternational.com
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