Women have come a long way in this world, especially in the aviation industry. Here at Hadid International Services (HADID), we pride ourselves on many important aspects of the aviation industry such as professional luxury services, reliability, safety and most of all: Maintaining a progressive workforce geared towards bridging the gap in gender equality.

Women have managed to play a vital role in the aviation industry throughout history, contributing to several milestones and firsts. Some of the greatest names to remember throughout aviation history include Blanche Scott, Harriet Quimby, Bessie Coleman, Amelia Earhart, Helen Richey, Sabiha Gökçen, Emily Howell Warner, Mary Barr and Eileen Marie Collins.

These women paved the way for others to forge their paths within the aviation industry, but it was not without hard work and determination, often in the face of discrimination.

In honour of Women’s Day, we spoke to our Asia Regional Sales Director, Aida Ismail, who is also the president of Women in Corporate Aviation Asia, WCAA about her career and thoughts on the future of the aviation industry for women.

As we know, the aviation industry is undergoing some vast changes. According to Ms. Ismail, the next five years of aviation will undoubtedly become more open and more serving of women.

“So, five years from now, by 2026, I think a lot more women will be involved in aviation. Women are resilient, great strategists and have those nurturing instincts that will protect and further the organisation as well as make women excellent leaders in aviation. But the aviation ecosystem needs to support this. We need the support of our colleagues and peers.”

Steve Silberstein, who serves on the board of the Marin County Employees Retirement Association (MCERA) states that “Having women on corporate boards substantially reduces the risk of fraud. Whether there’s a correlation or it’s casual, I’m not sure, but corporations with substantial numbers of women on their board have less fraud.” It’s also true that having more women sit as board directors can boost a company’s investment returns, which means that the aviation industry—and all industries for that matter—need to raise their representation of women in both the pilot’s seat and the corporate seats behind the scenes.

At HADID, we recognise the need to support women across the aviation industry, which is why we are dedicated to creating more opportunities for women to advance in all aspects of their aviation careers. According to Ms. Ismail, HADID has taken a great initiative to promote gender equality within its workforce.

“HADID is focusing on performance. Regardless of gender, you are on board based on your capabilities and skill sets.”

HADID firmly believes that this is the only way the aviation industry must work to gain equality. The focus must be on an employee’s performance, knowledge, and attitude—not their gender.

By promoting a performance-based focus, more women can take over leading positions within the aviation industry as there will be more opportunities for advancement. But as Ms. Ismail said, support is needed to create this type of atmosphere, where skills and performance come first, if we want to achieve more female representation in the aviation workforce.

When it comes to young professional females entering the aviation industry and finding their place, developing relationships, seeking out mentors and progressing in their careers, Ms. Ismail advises continuing to work hard and gain knowledge.

“Work hard, get involved, upgrade your knowledge and skill set, be a part of the aviation network, ask all the right questions, be solutions-focused and be proof of the results.”

Here at HADID, we are always on the lookout for women with this type of goal-oriented attitude, so together, we can improve the aviation industry.

In the years to come, we are going to need women to fill a lot more of the important seats, but that will not happen if we do not hold the door of opportunities open to them as we have with men in the past. As a progressive company, we understand this and we are holding the door open to create space for women in aviation to advance, thrive and find equality.