New Partnership Announced to Expand Opportunities For Women In Aviation

Nov. 12, 2014

Developing women leaders in both the aviation and aerospace industries – in the U.S. and in Europe – is the goal of a new effort that was launched recently by three aviation organizations.

At a kick-off event in Brussels, Belgium on Nov. 6, representatives of Women in Aerospace (WIA), International Aviation Womens Association (IAWA) and the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) agreed to collaborate on expanding women’s opportunities for career development and leadership in the aviation and aerospace sectors through the establishment of a broad network of professional contacts.

“The partnership established between IAWA, Women in Aerospace – Europe and the European Business Aviation Association provides an important new forum to expand the global network and discuss the future of our industry,” said Lisa Piccione, IAWA president-elect. “Another core value that our organizations share is ensuring that we can attract and retain the next generation of women in aviation and aerospace.”

Piccione, NBAA’s former senior vice president of government affairs who now lives in Brussels, said that IAWA has scholarship, internship and mentoring programs to encourage young women to pursue carriers in aviation and aerospace.

“The partnering of IAWA, WIA and EBAA to promote the advancement of women in aviation and aerospace through a worldwide professional network signals the beginning of an important collaboration,” said Piccione. “As aviation and aerospace become increasingly globalized, this platform meets the needs of an evolving industry today and will help shape future opportunities.”

Speakers at the kick-off event included Alessia Mosca, member of Parliament for the Committee of International Trade; Catherine Lang, FAA director – Europe, Africa and the Middle East based at the U.S. Embassy in Brussels; Fabio Gamba, CEO of EBAA and Veronique Dehant, head of section (Time, Earth Rotation and Space Geodesy) at the Royal Observatory of Belgium.

“If we want to ensure the best future for the aviation and aerospace sector, and the sub-sectors within them, we need the highest caliber of talent – leaders in science, politics, business, innovation and thought,” said Gamba. “This talent needs to come from the widest pool and that includes women and men.”

“We are pleased that Lisa is working on such a worthwhile initiative with EBAA, the leading European business aviation organization, and our European Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (EBACE) partner,” said Ed Bolen, president and CEO of NBAA.