Women in Aviation India(WAI), The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) & Ministry of Civil Aviation today celebrated and acknowledged the contribution of women in aviation in a program held today at Roseate House New Delhi.
Around 30 women achievers who have played a significant role in the aviation sector were felicitated by eminent dignitaries on the special occasion of International Women’s Day, which is celebrated throughout March globally, especially by organisations like ICAO, IATA and other civil aviation bodies.
Successful women aviators and achievers in the fields of Drone technology, aerospace, defence services, flight safety, cargo, heavy equipment operations, civil engineering, strategic planning, customer relationship management, flight operations and various aspects of Airline operations were recognized for their outstanding contribution. Women shining in the arena of pilot training and aero sports, inspiring today’s youth as role models were also felicitated at the ceremony.
Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Honourable Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Government of India was the Chief Guest of the program. Shri Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India and Smt. Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India were also present to congratulate the awardees. The ceremony was also attended by the members of Women in Aviation International – India chapter, senior representatives of FICCI and international airlines.
Women in Aviation India, a non-profit organization, is aligned with the policies and the astute vision of the Prime Minister of India, and aspires to build a strong foundation for women by providing networking, mentoring and training opportunities with a clear goal to encourage them to make aviation their preferred choice of career. As the nation proceeds to celebrate 75 glorious years of India’s independence this year, Women in Aviation reiterates its commitment to achieve gender equality in this industry and is determined to empower young girls and provide them with a strong platform to shine. The organization is growing from strength to strength, inspiring thousands of young girls to transcend all differences, traditional mind sets and obstacles to make aviation as their preferred choice of career.
Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Government of India, the chief guest addressed the gathering at the event “Today is a landmark day, when we are celebrating the achievements of women in the aviation industry, as we celebrate 75 years of independence this year with the Aazadi ka amrit mahotsav. As a country with 1.3 billion population, world‘s largest democracy, with 70% of the population below the age of 35, that is the potential India represents to the world. But this is a latent potential which needs to be converted to kinetic. Women in Aviation has been working in this direction. It’s need of the hour, the clarion call to bring women to the forefront so that we can achieve our dream of becoming a superpower . The role of women is not confined to airport and airplanes only and the number of ladies being recognised today are only a drop in the ocean, numerous other women have also made remarkable contribution in this industry. Our country has a rich heritage of women in Aviation; 15% of our pilots are women while the average global rate is only 5% . But we need to do much more and shift our parameters to bring this 15% to 50%. We all need to start at the grassroots by making STEM education accessible.”
Speaking on the occasion, Radha Bhatia, President, Women in Aviation India chapter shared, “it’s an absolute pleasure to host this event along with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, which celebrates the contribution of all women achievers. This day would be remembered in the history of aviation where we have so many eminent stars of Aviation present amongst us for the first time, along with a very dynamic Civil Aviation Minister and the eminent dignitaries from the ministry, FICCI and the industry. Women in aviation including the defence forces are also being felicitated today. Women have an important role to play in the aviation sector. India’s biggest problem today is that of unemployment and increasing participation in tourism and aviation might be one of the answers. We should all come together to provide maximum opportunities to all in an endeavour to put women in the forefront. “