Diverse boards, leaders, and workforces offer a wider range of experience and perspectives – yet structural barriers often prevent some candidates from reaching positions of authority. While we have seen an increase in gender diversity across aviation roles in the C-suite and operations, Venari Partners has sought to highlight developments at board level, as we feel this area receives inadequate attention.
Building on our research on women’s boardroom presence in 2022 and 2023, we have analysed 474 non-executive directors from 46 leading carriers from North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and APAC in 2024. Our statistics for 2023 showed that women non-executive directors (NEDs) comprised 24% of board seats analyzed. What has changed since then?
Our data shows a one percentage point increase for female board members in 2024. 25% (118/474 NEDs), is the highest figure that we have seen since beginning our whitepapers, representing a 3-percentage point increase on the data from our first report in 2022.
Results vary across regions and carrier types. For the third year running, European airlines showed the highest proportion of female board members at 31%. It is interesting to note, however, that North America has taken second place, with the 25% figure pipping APAC’s 22%. The Middle East and South America, meanwhile, remained static at 15% and 14% respectively.
Both full-service and low-cost carriers closely mirrored the overall findings this time around. Each airline type had 24% female board member representation according to our latest whitepaper. However, it is noteworthy that the figure for full-service carriers has remained unchanged since our first whitepaper, while low-cost carrier representation has increased by 2% from last year’s results. Chair information was available for 40 of the 46 airlines analyzed. Just four women were chairs of their boards: no change from our findings for 2023.
We have not seen as large a rise in female board members as we might have liked. Nonetheless, we believe in highlighting positive developments. Low-cost carriers’ change from 19% female board members in 2022 to 26% in 2024, up by two percentage points from 2023’s results, represents arguably our most significant finding to date. We also view the growth in female board members in North America as extremely good news.
Venari Partners previously used the FTSE’s voluntary 40% target for boardroom gender diversity as a yardstick by which to measure progress in aviation. This year’s FTSE 350 figure of 43.4% representation for women on non-executive boards is yet more challenging than the 40% minimum representation for female NEDs that we quoted last year. While parity is naturally the ideal (and some airlines have achieved or are close to this), there is a long way to go before even 40% representation for women on boards is normal in aviation.
We work with airlines globally, supporting them with senior executive and non-executive hires. We are also acutely aware of the importance of DEI and are proud of our ability to provide diverse shortlists for our clients. Venari Partners looks forward to continuing to support companies in their journey towards a more diverse industry.
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*Find out more about Venari Partners' engagement in the IATA's Strategic Partnership Program on the partners directory.
