WAL launches second mentorship programme
Following the success of its first mentoring programme in 2022, WAL has relaunched its initiative that aims to support the career aspirations of women professionals and reduce the gender gap in aviation and logistics
Women in Aviation and Logistics (WAL) has launched its second mentorship programme recently, bringing 51 industry professionals together for four months of experience sharing and learning.
The initiative, which brings together 27 mentor-mentee pairs, includes eight men and 43 women participants from diverse professional backgrounds, including airlines, airports, freight forwarders, IT solution providers, and trade associations.
The second WAL mentorship programme was made possible thanks to sponsorship support from Airblox, IBS Software, and Strike Aviation.
“We are delighted to relaunch our successful mentoring programme, which delivered tremendous value to the participants last year,” said Céline Hourcade, co-Founder of WAL and Founder and Managing Director of Change Horizon.
“We are proud to see that among this year’s participants, we have a number of programme alumni who decided to rejoin, including three former mentees who grew stronger in their roles and are coming back as mentors, as well as nine returning mentors,” she said.
The key goals for the female mentees are accelerating professional development, defining a career strategy, and learning from industry leaders. Mentors will share their knowledge and expertise, and the scheme will help improve gender diversity in the industry by empowering future air cargo leaders.
“The WAL mentorship programme is a tangible example of how, by working together, we can initiate change. The programme is enabling people from across the globe and across different sectors in the industry to come together, learn from each other, and build lasting relationships to the benefit of our community,” said Emma Murray, co-Founder of WAL and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Meantime Communications.
This year’s mentorship includes professionals with expertise in finance, pricing and revenue optimisation, sales, communication, and sustainable business strategies, to name just a few. Last year’s mentorship programme proved valuable not only to the mentees, but a number of mentors also reported learning from their mentees through so-called reverse mentorship as well.
The relationships formed during the first mentoring programme have outlasted the initial scheme, showing the long-lasting value of networking and mentorship overall.
