Dubai-based dnata has become the first global air and travel services provider to sign up to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) 25by2025 initiative that aims to advance gender diversity in the aviation industry.

Joining 62 airlines, dnata has committed to increasing the number of women in senior positions and under-represented roles with a target to reach a minimum representation of 25% or increase current levels by a minimum of 25% by 2025 across all divisions. The company will report annually on key diversity metrics. In addition, dnata will be working jointly with IATA and other signatories to increase the representation and nomination of women to IATA governance roles.

Steve Allen, Executive Vice President of dnata, said: ”Diversity has always been a core value at the heart of our organisation, with our people coming from more than 160 nationalities. Over recent years, we have taken several initiatives to empower women across our operations to progress their careers and help them achieve their full potential. We are thrilled to join IATA’s initiative to step up to the next level and play our part in improving gender diversity across the aviation industry.

“We will continue to engage our colleagues at all levels of the organisation to continuously improve while consistently monitoring our performance to achieve our goals. With our dedicated, diverse team we stay focussed on delivering excellence in everything we do to help travellers safely reconnect and discover the world.”

Anton Grove, Vice President People Performance & Development of IATA, said: “I welcome dnata's commitment to 25by2025. Joining the 25by2025 pledge signals the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion to all our aviation partners. By working together with a common goal we will drive real change. I look forward to seeing more ground handling companies joining this effort in the future.“

Across dnata's global operations, women are employed in wide-ranging job roles covering all major operational, commercial and support functions. Women are represented in almost all seniority levels within the company, including executive management as well as various technical roles.

These include specialised operational roles such as cargo loadmasters, ramp operations team leaders, turnaround coordinators and flight dispatchers. Over 24% of the women working with dnata have been with the company for 10 years or longer.

A trusted partner of over 300 airline customers, dnata provides quality and safe ground handling, cargo, catering and travel services in 35 countries. In the financial year 2020-21 dnata’s customer-oriented teams handled 290,000 aircraft, moved 2.7 million tons of cargo, and uplifted some 17 million meals. – TradeArabia News Service