D I V E R S I T Y
Do you think the sector is doing
enough to encourage women into
the sector?
There’s always more that can be done,
but I think we’re definitely making
strides as an industry. It all starts
with awareness, so at JetSuite, one
of the things we do is encourage
women by making sure they’re aware
of opportunities in the private jet
industry. We take pride in supporting
associations that will broaden our
ability to reach and encourage more
women and other marginalized groups.
This year I was able to join the
Women in Aviation International
conference as a keynote speaker.
While there I had the opportunity
to meet and inspire some of the
incredible women looking to advance
their careers or get a start in the
industry. We currently have around
31 female crew members working for
JetSuite, with approximately eight in
management positions.
How can we encourage more
women into business aviation?
It partly comes down to awareness.
How many people know about
business aviation? Most people are
familiar with working for airlines, but
we, as a sector must do better to
make people aware of opportunities
in the private jet industry. One way to
do that is to market our profession to
schools, colleges and career fairs.
Another is to feature more women
in advertisements and media relating
to the industry. Increasing opportunities
to study science, technology,
engineering and mathematics as
academic subjects can also help.
Exposure to these subjects can play a
key role in encouraging a greater pool
of young girls, who may have a desire
to enter our industry, through following
interests in areas such as engineering.
Do you think there is equal pay
and treatment for women in the
sector - what challenges, such as
sexism have you ever faced?
I think inequality exists in our industry,
just like all others and while it’s not
always convenient to do the right thing,
it’s time for the industry as a whole
to address it. We need to commit to
paying women and minorities equally
for equal work. A good place to start
Stephanie Chung
President of charter company JetSuite
is looking at the payroll of your people
and taking the initiative to make
necessary adjustments and ensure
that all pay is in alignment.
I’ve experienced sexism myself and
handled it by calling people out.
I always did it in a nice way, but I
called them out, nevertheless. I’ve
found that often times people aren’t
aware that they’re even doing it. But,
sitting silent while sexism is happening
is never an option. If we sit in silence,
then nothing changes.
What do you consider your
proudest achievement in your
career so far?
Making history by being the first
African American to run a major
private jet company.
What advice would you give to
women interested in a career in
business aviation?
Jump in. Business aviation is a fun
industry. Learn as much as you can,
decide which part of the industry
appeals to you, study it and be
prepared to start at the bottom and
work your way up.
“Sitting silent while sexism
is happening is never an
option. If we sit in silence,
then nothing changes”
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