February was a hectic month for me, but also very rewarding. I had the opportunity to be a part of two different conversations around Diversity and Inclusion in the Aviation Industry. Both events were incredibly well organized with thoughtful conversations and motivation to keep moving the needle forward!
First, from February 6th-9th I was able to attend the National Gay Pilots Association (NGPA) Diversity and Inclusion Summit. This was an event that was tailor made for colleges and universities with aviation programs and management level individuals with various air carriers and companies. The conference itself provided amazing guest speakers who could share their stories and perspective, but also sessions that provided insight into how to handle, respond, and work through a variety of issues concerning the LGBTQ+ community.
I had the opportunity to be a part of a panel discussion that involved other university aviation programs. The focus of our conversation was around the work that universities are currently doing-and what still needs done. One of the most interesting realizations to come from that meeting, was the necessity to help our flight instructors become more knowledgeable and trained around issues concerning the LGBTQ+ community.
Later in the month I also attended the Aviation Accreditation Board, International (AABI) Winter Meeting. This organization also hosted a Diversity in the Workplace panel that I was invited to be on. Since this audience was primarily individuals from colleges and universities, a great deal of the focus was on what methods institutions could be using to improve on their own diversity and inclusion efforts. Again, I was so impressed with how thoughtful the conversation was. Naturally, for many people, talking about diversity and inclusion can be challenging, because we often don’t know what kinds of questions to ask, or how to ask them, but in this instance, I was so pleased with how open-minded folks were to having difficult conversations.
Overall February was a great month, and I am so happy that more and more people are talking about these issues. It is no longer enough to have a boiler-plate diversity statement, our industry needs to take charge of moving these efforts forward!
