INTERNATIONAL. As the travel retail industry celebrates International Women’s Day we feature snapshots on how companies and individuals are #EmbracingEquity and promoting diversity across the channel.
Qatar Airways has marked International Women’s Day with a week-long series of activities including networking opportunities, aircraft hangar tours, and visits to the Integrated Operations Centre, simulator centre, along with leadership learning and health and wellness sessions.
Qatar Airways Cargo successfully conducted its first-ever all-female flight from Hamad International Airport to Shanghai Pudong International Airport on 5 March.
Its scheduled Boeing 777 freighter from Doha to Shanghai was operated entirely of a crew of made up of women. From the ground staff overseeing and handling the cargo, to the flight deck crew operating the flight, this is the first time a Qatar Airways Cargo freighter aircraft has operated with an all-female crew and all-female ground staff.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “In honour of International Women’s Day, we recognise the significant role women play in our airline and organisational culture.
“Since the inception of our airline more than 25 years ago, we have been fortunate enough to benefit from the expertise of accomplished female professionals who have left their mark on our company and helped us become the World’s Best Airline. This week was dedicated to uniting our female staff and supporting their growth within the aviation industry. We salute their contributions in helping us meet our organisation’s ambitious goals.”
The celebrations concluded today (8 March) with special giveaways organised in part with the Shafallah Center, and a Women in Leadership session led by Harvard professors.
On International Women’s Day, WHSmith has taken time to reflect on the progress the company has made and the work that still lies ahead to support a gender equal world.
On his LinkedIn post, WHSmith CEO Carl Cowling pointed out that over 60% of his colleagues are women.
Bahrain Duty Free celebrated the women at the company, their success stories, their achievements, and what inspires them as strong, supportive, leaders and members of the team in an eye-catching LinkedIn post.
DFS Group kicked off its #InternationalWomensDay celebrations with an engaging and interactive workshop by LUÜNA on closing the gender health gap.
A B Corp-certified company, LUÜNA is on a mission to help organisations in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region to create more equitable environments by providing sustainable period care in every washroom. On a LinkedIn post, DFS says it is looking forward to continuing the conversation on #embracingequity this month.
Marking International Women’s Day, integrated marketing and design agency Purple defines the word equity, sharing a few of the different ways to #EmbraceEquity in the #PurpleNation on social media.
View this post on Instagram
Caroline South Associates also marked the special day, reaching out to its social media followers.
Melbourne Airport celebrated some of its “superstar women” with an iconic all-female flight.
From end-to-end VA313 was crewed, handled and managed by female employees ranging from the airport’s Terminal Coordinator and Air Safety Officers to Cabin Crew, ramp staff, Air Traffic Controllers and pilots.
The joint initiative involved Virgin Australia, Airservices Australia and Brisbane Airport, with some of the key staff featured on social media.
Brisbane Airport Corporation Executive General Manager of Human Resources Jane Dionysius said: “There isn’t a single role across aviation that women can’t do and today’s flight proves that. I look forward to a time when seeing women across aviation isn’t extraordinary, it’s the everyday.
“International Women’s Day 2023 is about ‘cracking the code’ and initiatives like today where the industry works together to provide young women with a powerful visual reminder, the sky is not the limit.”
As reported, The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has been included in the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) for the sixth consecutive year.
The beauty group said it continues to improve its index score as it continues to deepen commitments to women’s advancement and gender equity, “ensuring our employees have equitable access to career advancement, pay parity, and opportunity across ELC worldwide”.
Gender parity is highlighted by Fraport Slovenija (Ljubljana Airport) Managing Director Babett Stapel in her post on LinkedIn. Stapel underlines that the company has already achieved gender equality among its head of departments.
“The same applies for the administration area in which female employees represent more than half of the staff,” she notes. “This is not a coincidence”, she adds, highlighting the efforts of Združenje Manager, the managers’ association in Slovenia whose mission it is to uphold and further the rights and improve conditions for those in management positions in Slovenia.
#HerShe: Hershey AEMEA is celebrating International Women’s Day with a campaign, honouring the ‘Sheroes’ of APAC. The company is launching a range of special products that “embody the strength, resilience, and spirit of women across the region”.
On International Women’s Day, French Cognac house Camus is underlining its commitment to women’s rights and its support of the Socio-educational Association of the Cognac Region (ASERC), which is based in the west of France.
ASERC is dedicated to gender equality and helps victims of domestic violence. From 6-13 March, Camus is donating 10% of revenue from sales on its camus.fr website to the association.
ASERC introduced a Suzanne Noël project for the reception and support of victims of domestic violence in 2013. Established by the Soroptimist Club of Cognac, an association of “women at the service of women”, two emergency centres offer accommodation for victims of domestic violence and their children. ASERC plans to open a third this year.
Camus says it is committed to ensuring quality and promoting diversity across its company. “Our goal is to make the conditions for each and every one conducive to their success and development within our organisation, without discrimination, in addition to respecting everyone’s individuality,” Camus points out on its website.
“At Camus, there are no gender-based trades. Production line setter, cellar master, production manager, cellar agent, forklift operator are examples of positions held by women over the past ten years.”
Essence Corp Vice President Patricia Bona added her voice on LinkedIn, sharing a post with women she loves, and loves to work with, including those in Women in Travel Retail (WiTR), highlighting Pakistani education activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai.
Nestlé is asking its LinkedIn followers to consider the “person you wouldn’t be ‘you’ without”.
The food and confectionery specialist highlights women embracing the lessons learned from their ‘person’, while paving the path for the next generation of leaders beginning their professional journeys.
Diageo has been included in the 2023 FTSE Women Leaders Review for the third consecutive year and shared the news on LinkedIn, adding that the company has met a 40% Women on Boards target ahead of time.
Accolade Wines is taking the opportunity on International Women’s Day to “focus on the achievements of the incredible women who have made Accolade Wines what it is today”.
“While the world has shifted considerably, gender equity is still not commonplace,” Accolade points out. “As a business, we believe it’s imperative that we continue #EmbraceEquity, and focus on supporting, fostering and encouraging women to thrive in the workplace.”