Page 35 - STAT Trade Times Novemmber 2024 Magazine for Website

roles have long been the norm. Lufthansa
Cargo is actively working to change this
dynamic, setting notable standards in
gender diversity. “We have an overall
share of women of 31% in the company,
especially at the leadership level,” Voegele
highlights, “with 33% female leaders at
the top management level.” Although
this progress is promising, she recognises
there’s still work to be done. "The industry
still reflects a more male-dominated
Behind every culture from the past, and there’s work to
be done to foster greater gender diversity
shipment, there’s at all levels,” she acknowledges.
For many companies, the focus is
a team of people not just on present challenges but on
working tirelessly, preparing future leaders. At dnata, Rachel
Douglas and Adele Johnson are spear-
often around the heading projects that empower women
and promote inclusive leadership globally.
clock, to ensure This includes “unconscious bias and inclu-

cargo moves sive leadership training” for global leaders,
with a focus on supporting women’s
seamlessly across journeys into leadership roles. Douglas
believes these initiatives will allow dnata
borders. to retain and develop women, ensuring
that diverse voices remain at the forefront
Antonia Ambrozy
Freightos of the company’s future.
handling and customer service to techni- Talking about training programmes,
cal roles on the flight deck. SKY Express, shared how the company in- Steffen Treiber, SVP Airfreight, DHL Global
tegrates young talent into data-driven roles Forwarding, Asia Pacific, said, “We have
Diversity as a pathway to to keep up with industry changes. “We are structured upskilling programmes such
innovation engaging young people in our marketing as Certified and our HR portal, MyTalent-
At Avianca, diversity is about more than departments to do our data analysis, data World, offers functional, thematic and
policy — it’s integral to fostering an inclu- analytics for anything that involves passen- personal development training pro-
sive work culture where every employee gers, fares, and images,” she said. grammes. As a group, we invested €216
feels seen and valued. Julian Solorzano, To make this shift successful, Christidi million in staff development last year,
Manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion highlights the need for a collaborative ap- while employees invested in 4.7 million
at Avianca, captures this sentiment well: proach, bringing together both young and hours of combined training time. Also, to
“D&I is about happiness. It’s about belong- older employees in an ongoing learning become an employer of choice, we run
ing, and it’s about identity.” Solorzano’s journey. “We needed to employ people that an employee survey every year where
message at the IATA Forum encouraged can actually help us employ the right peo- employees anonymously rate the leader-
other companies to build workplaces that ple into the industry,” she stated. By doing ship team on various factors. They are also
celebrate diverse identities and foster so, SKY Express aims to create a seamless encouraged to share rooms for improve-
inclusive leadership. “I invite all companies blend of experience and innovation that will ment, and the leadership team reviews
to invest in awareness, inclusive leader- support the industry’s digital future. these and takes the necessary steps to
ship, and building an inclusive environ- “Technology has helped air cargo address their concerns.”
ment for everyone,” he said, emphasising professionals turn challenges into op-
that this investment is essential for a portunities, from real-time tracking to AI- A people-first agenda in
thriving, engaged workforce. driven efficiency models,” said Ambrozy, aviation
underscoring how innovation enhances Even amid economic and technological
Bridging generational divides customer experience. challenges, aviation leaders are plac-
through AI and data ing the well-being and development of
In a world increasingly driven by digital Empowering leaders for employees at the heart of their strate-
transformation, bridging generational tomorrow gies. “Our most valuable asset has always
divides is essential for progress in air cargo. Inclusivity is an evolving priority in the been, and will always be, our people,”
Vassiliki Christidi, Group General Manager at air cargo sector, where male-dominated Marjan Rintel, President and CEO of KLM,

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