This March, the first flight was carried out prepared and manned 100% by Panamanian women with diverse profiles, and highly qualified
In the month of the commemoration of International Women's Day, Copa Airlines promotes a series of initiatives that seek to highlight the value of the role of women in the development of the aviation industry, thus reaffirming its IATA Commitment 25 by 2025, that seeks greater participation of women at all levels and in non-traditional roles. The signatory airlines commit to increasing female representation by 25% by 2025 in areas where women are traditionally underrepresented, such as pilots and aviation technicians.
“At Copa we recognize the value that women bring to the aviation industry. For this reason, we are pleased to offer more and more opportunities in positions that were not traditionally occupied by women, but today we see how they have shown that when you set your mind to it, there are no goals that cannot be achieved. We are proud to have each of the thousands of collaborators who work every day, committed to providing a professional and world-class service, contributing to the development of our country," said Pedro Heilbron, executive president of Copa Airlines.
This March, the first Copa Airlines flight was carried out, prepared and manned 100% by Panamanian women with diverse profiles, and highly qualified in their different professions, demonstrating that there are no limits for a woman to occupy important technical positions for the operation, such as aerospace engineering, pilots, auxiliary crew, logistics, flight dispatch and monitoring, airport operating personnel, among others. The ELEVA MUJER CM270 flight to Cancun, Mexico, was successfully operated by a committed and passionate team demonstrating that there are no limits for a woman who wants to achieve her goals.
In recognition of the work of the women and professionals of Copa Airlines, the MOVErse Foundation of Panama invited Copa Airlines to be part of the 10th edition of the prestigious "Women's Film Week", organized by UN Women in Jordan, to represent the country from the Embassy of Panama in Jordan. This year, 13 inspiring documentaries were presented that tell stories of women as agents of change in environmental sustainability.
During the meeting, held on March 9, the documentary produced in conjunction with Creative Movement, "Women Flying Dreams" was presented, which highlights the story of professional growth of three women, leaders of Copa Airlines, protagonists of the planning and implementation of initiatives and programs of the Airline to balance its operational growth in a sustainable manner, fulfilling its commitment to reduce the carbon footprint and its impact on the environment.
“Offering opportunities under equal conditions where all employees, regardless of their gender, race, sexual orientation or religion, can grow, contribute their skills and ideas and reach their full potential, is the key to our sustainability strategy as a company. For this reason, we created the ELEVA program, which has initiatives that promote and encourage equality, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of working life at Copa Airlines. One of its pillars is ELEVA Mujer, which seeks to empower and develop leading women in non-traditional positions of relevance to the industry”, commented Laura Plata, director of employee experience at Copa Airlines.
ELEVA is based on three pillars: Diversity, Equality and Inclusion, and one of its work focuses is to promote the greater participation of women at all levels and roles within the Airline. As part of this program, this March, with the support of Voces Vitales, Copa Airlines organized the Women Mentoring Walk in Panama City, where its collaborators also participated in the talk “Release your power as a Woman Leader” , under the leadership of the speaker Denise Dziwak. Additionally, it is running a training program with the aim of developing skills to promote gender complementarity.
Currently, the Airline has 26% women directors or senior positions, of the managers they represent 41%; 98 female pilots, which means 10% of the total number of pilots, one of the highest figures in the industry; and 34 women aviation mechanics and aeronautical engineers who currently work at the Airline Maintenance Center.
In addition to Commitment 25 by 2025, Copa Airlines is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, a signatory to the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEP's), an active participant in the Gender Parity Initiative of the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES). ), and in 2020 it received certification in the Gold category of the "Yes Gender" Equality Seal led by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).