By Lisa Gordon | February 12, 2014 Estimated reading time 4 minutes, 18 seconds.
Last year, more than 17,000 girls and women attended events connected to Women of Aviation Worldwide Week, a seven-day series of global celebrations designed to recognize and honour female achievement in aviation. Now in its fourth year, the Week (March 3-9, 2014) aims to introduce as many females as possible to the potential of an aviation career, in an industry which has seen little to no increase in the number of women working in its ranks in recent years.
Women have long been recognized as possessing effective leadership qualities, whether in the cockpit or in the boardroom. According to one 2013 Harvard Business Review article, “The skills that many women bring to business naturally — a collaborative style, a talent for listening, and a natural ability to manage interpersonal relationships — are some of the aptitudes that all leaders need now and in the future.”
It’s an assertion that Jay Dilley, president of Hawkair, backs 100 per cent. His company, a regional airline founded in 1994 and serving four B.C. communities – Vancouver, Terrace-Kitimat, Prince Rupert and Smithers – is somewhat of an anomaly in the Canadian aviation landscape due to its heavy concentration of female managers and executives. Honouring this tradition, the airline recently launched a two-year program that is dedicated to nurturing women leaders from within. Dubbed the Hawkair Women in Leadership Executive Development Program, Dilley said it’s something he’s been anxious to implement since he joined Hawkair last July.
“We wanted to launch something that would help women progress in aviation, help continuing education, and promote female leadership in the industry,” he told Canadian Skies. “We’d like to be a leader in changing the landscape out there.”
Dilley said the new program was unveiled to Hawkair’s 135 staff members last October. In January, the airline announced that revenue manager Jocelyn Lebell had been chosen to be the program’s first participant.
Currently working toward her Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification, Lebell will also be obtaining a number of other industry-related certifications, attending various workshops and conferences, and working with an outside mentor as she progresses through the program. She will also have the chance to take on a rotating director’s role in a number of different departments, including corporate services, airline operations, and aviation services.
After two years of following this practical and theoretical career development “roadmap,” Dilley said Lebell, 31, will take the leadership role in one of the business units at Hawkair.
After a decade spent working for the airline, Lebell is thrilled to be the first woman to participate in the airline’s new program. “When I found out I was selected, I was really excited! It’s a wonderful opportunity,” she said. “I’m looking forward to what I can bring to Hawkair; and it will leave me personally with some wonderful skills.”
Dilley is moving the program forward as quickly as possible. “I think it’s timely. We need to be cognizant of the fact that from a succession standpoint, there is a lot of value to be driven for the company by adding some supplemental development tools.”
He added that to his knowledge, Hawkair’s Women in Leadership Executive Development Program is the first of its kind in the Canadian aviation industry.
The regional airline, which carried 85,000 passengers on scheduled flights in 2013, operates a fleet of three de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100s and one Dash 8-300.
