Women to the fore at Flybe

A programme designed to encourage women to join the aviation business has been launched by Flybe. Called ‘FlyShe’, the initiative is designed to inspire young girls and women to consider roles that are traditionally male-associated.

Flybe CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener said: "Aviation is still very much a male-dominated industry. There are many reasons, but the main one is the pipeline of female talent in engineering and piloting is simply not there."

In addition to launching its new online hub, flyshe.co.uk, Flybe will continue to roll out regional initiatives as part of the programme, visiting schools and producing educational materials for schools to host their own sessions.

Flybe says with the airline industry forecast to double in size by 2035, it is predicted the sector needs 637,000 new pilots to meet global demand.

Independent research however revealed a gender bias in the roles to which children currently aspire, with girls half as likely as boys to want to become aviation engineers and four times less likely to want to be pilots.

Ourmières-Widener began her own career as an engineer in an airline maintenance department and is now the UK's only female airline chief executive.

For a video about Flybe’s female workforce, see
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PKueCJCobw&feature=youtu.be

www.flybe.com

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