Study Finds Airlines With More Women In Management Positions Are More Efficient
A recent study from Barcelona, Spain’s Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) found that airlines with more women in senior positions performed better both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. In collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, the study used criteria including capacity management, operational performance, and sustainability to compare the performance of 45 airline companies before and after the pandemic.
Gender diversity is key to resilience during COVID-19
The study, released on March 5, discovered that airlines with more gender diversity on their executive teams and boards of directors were better equipped to adapt to the pandemic’s challenges. Professor Pere Suau-Sanchez, a co-author of the paper, says that women were crucial in helping these airlines stay efficient in unpredictable times.
“Our research shows that airlines with higher levels of gender diversity in leadership demonstrated greater resilience to the pandemic’s unprecedented challenges,” said Suau-Sanchez, who leads the Sustainability, Management and Transport Research Group (SUMAT) at UOC’s Faculty of Economics and Business.
The study covered various airline groups from different regions, including 15 in America (including North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean), 12 in Europe, and 18 in Asia-Pacific. The airline companies ranged widely in size and economic strategy, from low-cost carriers such as Ryanair to industry giants like American Airlines.
According to the study, increasing the number of women on these airlines’ management teams might lead to a significant rise in productivity. The efficiency of the 45 airline groups under analysis could increase by 1.9% in terms of capacity management (the number of flights and seats available) and by up to 3.2% in other variables like sustainability if they were to meet the IATA’s target of having at least 25% more women on their executive teams and boards of directors.
Balanced and innovative decision-making offered by females
Suau-Sanchez explained that the current worldwide average for women in the aviation industry is 18% on boards and 15% on executive teams. However, certain airlines are leading the way, like the low-cost Spanish carrier Vueling, which has 71% of its leadership team and 40% of its management positions held by women. The study found that this kind of gender balance promotes a more imaginative and comprehensive approach to decision-making, particularly in times of uncertainty. Lamolla said:
“The resilience observed can be explained, in part, by the diversity of perspectives in decision-making. In airlines with more women, this facilitated more innovative and balanced approaches during a period of great uncertainty. These airlines also considered long-term effects, not just the immediate impacts.”
