Delta Airlines has hosted its annual “Women Inspiring the Next Generation (WING) Flight” to celebrate ‘Girls in Aviation Day.’
The event, held at the NASA Kennedy Space Center, brought together 136 girls aged 11 to 18, from Atlanta, United States, on a chartered Boeing 737-900 aircraft with an all-female pilot and crew members.
The annual event, marked on Friday, September 20, was created in 2015 by Delta’s Flight Operations in partnership with Women in Aviation International.
It introduces young girls to careers in aviation and other male-dominated roles in the industry.
WING also gave the participants an opportunity to engage directly with career women in aviation and inspire them to take up similar roles in future.
“Many aviation and aerospace jobs are historically male dominated, so getting the best talent for Delta, especially from underrepresented groups, has to start early,” Beth Poole, General Manager of Pilot Development and WING Flight co-founder at Delta Airlines, stated in a release from the Kingdom Concepts Consult, issued to the Ghana News Agency, in Accra.
“The WING Flight is an opportunity to introduce young women to career opportunities, to show them what they can be when they work hard and dream big, and to emphasise how positively and profoundly women impact our business and the world of aviation,” she added.
The girls were selected from nine schools and organisations with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) with whom Delta partners as part their support of STEM programming in the Atlanta Public School System.
Upon arrival at the Kennedy Space Center, the students spent the day engaging with NASA leaders through a “Women in STEM” panel discussion and a tour of Space Shuttle Atlantis and Apollo/Saturn V Center.
“The whole day was like magic. To experience this for the first time with my other Delta colleagues was like a dream come true for me,” Delta First Officer, Hiwot Taddesse, said.
“Like so many of these young girls, I always knew I wanted to fly, but I didn’t know anyone in the aviation industry to help guide me. We’ve come a long way since then, especially with events like the WING Flight. Now, our next generation of girls have more opportunities to see themselves represented in each of us,” she added.
WING, forms a part of Delta Airline’s efforts to “close opportunity gaps for women in aviation and to generate a more diverse talent pipeline,” the release noted.
“Seeing and experiencing the possibilities for a fulfilling career in aviation and aerospace is the first step toward believing you can achieve such a goal,” Gina Laughlin, Vice President, Global Brand Communications at Delta stated.
“Delta’s WING flight celebrates these possibilities and the future generation of aviation professionals. It’s a privilege to spend the day with so many inspiring young women and my female Delta colleagues who made the day so successful.”
Delta Airline’s total workforce is made of 42% women but only a fraction of that number, according to officials, work as pilots, ramp agents and Technical Operations employees.
The Company said efforts were being made to increase the ratio.
