An advisory has been issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to airlines and airports for the adoption of measures to promote gender equality. The safety regulator recommended several measures including return-to-work policies for women on a career break, leadership and mentorship programmes for women and training programmes for cabin crew to help them diversify their skills.
DCGA said its advisory aims to increase the representation of women in various aviation-related roles to 25% by 2025, which is also the call given by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) under its 25by2025 global best practices.
The DGCA circular states several measures that aviation organizations can take, such as defining diversity goals to direct recruitment practices and guaranteeing equality in representation during the recruitment process.
Organizations have also been asked to implement government laws on the provision of maternity leave and creche facilities, and to come up with measures to hire women back after a break in service due to parenting requirements. Apart from this, the safety regulator has also asked them to develop a zero tolerance policy when it comes to sexual harassment, and train and educate employees to dispel biases and stereotypes against women.
The DGCA is advocating for airlines to expand their training programs to include technical and operational knowledge to allow cabin crew members to progress horizontally throughout the departments in the organizations.
Additionally, it has requested the organizations to create a pool of female executives and advance gender equality through leadership and mentorship programs. These actions will help to “foster a culture of inclusivity and substantive representation of women in higher decision making roles”.