Air Niugini participates in National Women’s Day celebrations
March 27, 2024
Air Niugini encourages gender equality and inclusivity and condones any discrimination in the workplace. And this is evident across the airline in various roles, especially in the current senior management and middle management positions.
That’s from the airline’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr Gary Seddon who was part of a group of esteemed panellists at the National Women’s Day celebrations at APEC Haus on Monday, focused on this year’s theme: “Count Her In: Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.”
Mr. Seddon admitted that Air Niugini was making good progress toward a more balanced and inclusive workplace, but still had a long way to go.
He said “Admittedly we do have less female pilots than their male counterparts, but I can vouch for a good balance of women in Air Niugini management positions. We have a board that has two highly respected female Directors, in Dame Monica Salter and Lady Aivu Tauvasa.”
“At Air Niugini, in practice we don’t distinguish between female and male pilots; they are just pilots. Women go through the same thorough, intense, and vigorous training that men go through. This is a merit based system with regulations and certification” Mr Seddon said
Mr. Seddon also highlighted the need to create more opportunities for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in early years education to encourage and provoke the curiosity of young girls and guide them into the STEM pathways as they grow older. This could eventually lead to a rewarding career in aviation.
Panellists also discussed issues ranging from women’s mental health to work place harassment, leadership opportunities, policies and supportive structure and culture. The need to support greater means of redress is critical to developing a progressive inclusive environment. The adoption of the Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) policy is an imperative and a positive step.
The National Women’s Day event was organised by the Department of Prime Minister & NEC in partnership with the other government departments, attended by senior members of the public service including the Chief Secretary for the Prime Minister and NEC, the Secretary for Personnel Management, the Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock, Secretary for International Trade and Investment and the Acting Managing Director of Climate Change, among others
Corporate Communications Department
Wednesday 27th March, 2024