|
Diversity Still Valued in Tight Aerospace
Labor Market
A tight labor market has facilitated advancements
in the diversity of the general workforce. Aerospace and aviation
are no different, and industry leaders have learned that talent
is the first priority, and replacing a known talent is an expense
most aerospace companies can ill afford.
 Tuskegee
University is the leading producer of African-American aerospace
engineers. The Alabama school began offering an accredited engineering
program in 1982. |
Although aerospace workers still are primarily
white males, an increasing number of people from different racial,
educational and cultural backgrounds are working in the field. Most
top industry officials also are white, but a number of minority
leaders have emerged in recent years, including Hansel Tookes, the
African-American who leads Raytheon Aircraft.
Another change is that the measures of success
in valuing diversity have shifted from counting who is being interviewed
and hired to determining whether women and minority employees are
being retained and promoted at the same pace as white males.
Companies have found that the prospects for
retention and promotion can be improved when employees feel respected,
believe they can contribute and are being prepared for their next
career move by acquiring new skills and competencies. The bar is
not being lowered, but talent is being identified early, training
and education are being provided, career options are being explored,
and everyone is allowed to succeed and, just as important, to fail.
Peggy Chabrian, executive director of Women
in Aviation International (WIAI), reported that the number of females
in the aviation industry continues to increase.
"I know I am dealing with more female business
owners and vice presidents," she said. "Sometimes we forget that
one of the key factors is that for women to reach the executive
levels, they have to have experience. Now, that is [finally] occurring.
We also are seeing more efforts by colleges and universities to
attract women into their programs."
At Boeing, valuing diversity continues to be
a focus but has extended well beyond race and gender.
"We have merged with a number of companies, and
each of them has deep roots. We have to know that culture and make
it work for us," said Jim Dagnon, Boeing's vice president of people.
The company also is recruiting engineers and other professionals
from Europe, which requires that employees focus on understanding
how people from different countries might approach the same situation.
Bell Helicopter has shifted from evaluating
leaders on the basis of interviewing diverse job candidates to increasing
the retention of diverse employees. P.D. Shabay, executive vice
president for administration and human resources, said the shift
may appear subtle, but it is tied directly to the company's future.
"We hold people accountable for the efforts they
make to create a stronger work team," said Shabay. "By definition,
that means valuing what makes each person unique."
The Tulsa, Okla.-based Nordam Group is increasingly
reliant on skilled craftspeople to remain competitive, and that
is the part of the company workforce that is most diverse. Laura
Lundquist, director of human resources, said the company also is
maintaining its efforts to increase the diversity of its management
team.
"One of our biggest challenges is that we have
to help people who are new fit in with the majority of Nordam employees
who have been here for over a decade," said Lundquist.
Nordam also is offering incentives to attract
employees over the age of 50. "There are many 50-year-olds who want
full-time work, and that is a market we focus on.
"We also are going out to the community and are
identifying people who have no skills and no career. Then we enroll
them in a training program where they learn to read blueprints,
follow a process and learn a craft," Lundquist said. "We want to
bring in 14 new people per month, creating opportunities for those
who do not currently have employable skills."
Raytheon Missile Systems boasts a workforce
that is 20% female and 23% minority. "We continue to look at retention
and promotion rates," said Noreen Nelson, the company's director
of staffing and diversity programs. "We continue to build the infrastructure
to help employees grow and develop professionally and personally."
Southwest Airlines has long focused on generating
mutual respect among employees. Lorraine Grubbs-West, manager of
field employment, said, "In this workplace, we must respect one
another. We also pay attention to the diversity of people we hire.
We want to reflect our customer base. We promote so much from within
that it is important we bring in a diverse group to begin with."
United Airlines has established a mentor program
in tandem with the Organization of Black Airline Pilots, Women Mentoring
Women and sons and daughters of current employees. Anyone who meets
the basic qualifications for becoming a pilot will receive voluntary
mentoring from a United flight crew member on how to succeed in
the interview process. United also offers an intern program.
Richard Wright, dean of the College of Aviation
at Western Michigan State University, worked with the Kellogg Foundation
to develop a program to attract more women and minorities to the
pilot program at the school. Today, 16% of the more than 700 students
enrolled in the program are women and 8% are minorities.
"We're educating future airline captains while
working very hard to enhance diversity in the industry," said Wright.
"The airline industry, as a whole, has atrocious numbers in this
regard—generally, 5% of pilots are women and 3% are minorities.
We must do something here, at our level, for the industry to change."
Europe faces additional challenges in its quest
for diversity. With each nation struggling to maintain its deep
traditions in the broader European Union, this can be a real challenge,
according to Airbus' Erik Pillet. To simplify and separate cultural
differences from the corporate environment, Airbus is conducting
business in English—all meeting notes, memorandums and business
documents are written in English.
Northrop Grumman, as with most of the larger
companies that have grown through mergers and acquisitions, lists
diversity as one of its top business initiatives. Sandra Evers-Manly,
corporate director of diversity, EEO programs and contributions,
said the company's changing structure has directly affected the
number of women and minority executives.
"The sale of our commercial aerostructures business
area last year, for example, and merger activities continue to play
a role in the composition of our workforce," explained Evers-Manly.
"As a result of these mergers, we have lost both women and minority
executives. [However] diversity continues to be a major focus throughout
the company in the selection and development of executives and future
talent," she added. About 9.5% of Northrop Grumman managers are
minority and almost 13% are women.
One concern is that companies are recruiting
talented minorities and women from each other. Among the companies
known for producing high-talent women in technology is Texas Instruments
(TI), which played a role in the development of Christine Davis,
a former executive with Raytheon Sensors and Electronic Systems;
Julie England, the vice president and general manager of TI's Sun
business; and Dixie Garr, vice president for customer success engineering
at Cisco Systems.
WIAI's Chabrian said other prominent examples
of female leaders in the aviation and aerospace industries include
Jane Garvey, FAA Administrator; Deborah McElroy, president of the
Regional Airline Assn.; and Elizabeth Haskins, president and CEO
of Signature Flight Support.
However, the number of women and minorities
in the top tier remains low. This underscores the need to identify
top talent, build skills and values, and then retain talented individuals.
|
