Dubai airline Emirates says it employs over 29,0000 women

Women make up close to 44 per cent of the workforce at Emirates, the Dubai-based airline revealed on Monday, ahead of International Women’s Day.

Emirates currently employs more than 29,000 women from over 150 nationalities.

While over 18,000 work as cabin crew, the rest are represented across technical, professional and leadership roles, a statement said.

Close to 2.5 per cent of the total female staff hold managerial positions in the airline.

Meanwhile female cockpit crew come from 24 nationalities and are aged between 20 and 59 years, including pilot cadets.

Captain Nevin Darwish from Egypt is the first woman of Arab origin to have captained the Airbus A380 while first officer Alia Al Muhairi, a UAE national, is currently the youngest Emirati female pilot at Emirates operating the jumbo jet.

Women also work as licensed aircraft engineers, mechanics, and technicians for aircraft maintenance and repairs.

They also occupy critical positions in flight operations both on the ramp as operations managers, turnaround coordinators, aircraft loading supervisors and load controllers as well as in the operations centre as flight dispatchers and duty managers.

In the last 10 years, the proportion of women as part of the airline’s total workforce has grown by 6 per cent, Emirates added.

Abdulaziz Al Ali, executive vice president of Human Resources at Emirates said: “Emirates is committed to providing equal opportunities at the workplace for both women and men across all business functions.

“We hope that our women colleagues can continue to inspire and be role models for girls and women across the globe interested in pursuing careers in aviation.”