Menzies has made a commitment to increase gender diversity and is aiming for at least 40% of middle leadership roles to be held by women by 2033 and 25% of senior leadership roles by 2025, in line with the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) 25by2025 campaign.

To help achieve our gender diversity goals, 22 women from Europe, AMI, OSEA and MEAA were chosen to take part in the pilot Women in Leadership programme, with a further session planned for the Americas in 2022.

The programme took place virtually with a mix of interactive group sessions, smaller peer learning groups and 121 coaching sessions as well as the opportunity to meet fellow leaders from different countries and businesses. The programme aims to:

• Build confidence and self-belief in personal ability to succeed
• Develop clarity on life/career direction and how to navigate for success
• Create comfort building visibility & networking successfully with key stakeholders

From the pilot group, 94% said they’d recommend the program to a fellow female leader.

Three leaders from the pilot group shared their thoughts on the programme and bias in the workplace.

Teodora Hanea, Station Manager Timisoara, Romania: “It was great to be part of the pilot and very interesting to share experiences with other women in leadership at Menzies. It was an opportunity to learn and grow and I’ve identified areas to work on for me and my team. The programme is a great opportunity to see different approaches and cultures - I met colleagues who inspired me and the group have shown we are a strong force for Menzies leadership.

“Overcoming bias requires extra perseverance and determination to get problems solved and projects implemented. Let’s break the bias together!”

Marina Nilsson Rahel, Front of House Manager Gothenburg, Sweden: “The programme provided a great balance of internal reflection and challenging exercises as well as coaching and exchanging knowledge, tips and tricks with our peers and the presenters. As well as making new contacts, the programme boosted my confidence and raised my awareness of the impact of my actions and how I can support others. I would absolutely recommend the programme to other women leaders.

“In Sweden, I believe have made good progress on gender diversity. The local management team is very aware of the topic and working hard to erase any gender equalities.”

Claire Bristow, Sales Manager AMI: “I thoroughly enjoyed the programme. It was good to meet other women from around the globe, we’re all going through similar experiences and need to be there for each other. I would 100% recommend this programme to other women leaders. Following the course, my takeaways are to spend more time engaging with my team at all different levels and making more time for myself.”

Pictured above (L-R): Teodora Hanea, Marina  Nilsson Rahel, Claire Bristow