A-WING jobfAIR

Inspiring women and DEI initiatives in the aviation workforce

Aviation needs to attract more potential employees and jobfAIR is the Aviation Women Inspiring Next Generation initiative to make that happen

“We want to grow the number of women [working in aviation] to 25% by 2025,” said Aviation Women Inspiring Next Generation (A-WING) co-founder, Mary Wanke. Over the three days of MRO Americas, the A-WING volunteers were available to talk about the job fair, called jobfAIR by A-WING, where a dedicated website allows interested women to find a job they like and request an interview.

Wanke and her colleagues want to increase the percentage of women in the aviation industry because it is still in single digits and has remained so for decades.

The A-WING volunteers, who include men and women, intend to change all that. Wanke points out that aviation has far more jobs in non-technical areas that should be brought to light, prospective hires do not have to have technical qualifications. The belief that to work in aviation you have to be either a pilot or an engineer is a barrier to people choosing the industry. As such the jobfAIR website does not have any pilot jobs.

Jobs on the website, calendly.com/ awing, covers aviation, space and

Mary Wanke, co-founder of A-WING

The aim is to increase the amount of females in the industry

defense. Listed by company, there were 29 companies advertising one or more positions. By selecting a company and with just a few clicks a job can be selected and a time and day chosen during the week of MRO Americas could be picked. A position description can also be downloaded. The positions are wide ranging, from entry level jobs to director level roles. At A-WING’s booth, industry could meet privately and conduct interviews at the scheduled times.

Wanke emphasizes that women of any age can apply, they do not have to be just out of school or college. Wanke started her career as a pilot and then switched into engine MRO. Aligning forces with both Aviation Week & the Aerospace Maintenance Council (AMC), A-WING welcomed both applicants and hiring companies to its 2nd annual jobfAIR during the 2022 MRO Americas Conference. The first time A-WING organized the jobfAIR at MRO Americas in 2021 there were only four companies advertising jobs, so the jump to 29 is a substantial success.

The overwhelming response from the attendees, organizers and applicants confirmed that A-WING’s effort was a niche that the MRO, Aviation and Aerospace community felt needed to be filled. Aviation Week Network is an A-WING media partner. Company owners, hiring managers, HR executives or anyone involved in talent acquisition can contact Gretchen Pinkerton at gretchen@a-wing.org for open positions to be posted at future MRO Americas shows. The non-profit A-WING volunteers encourage Diversity, Equality & Inclusion and hope to bring an awareness, platform, and space for the needle to start moving in the doubledigit direction quickly. ■