2023 AGENDA

Introduction

The ATM sector has a strong case to develop a network approach to increase Inclusion and Diversity to increase sustainability, improve safety and to ensure sufficient qualified staff for aviation in the future. Such work links directly with EC Directives , many state laws and the UN Global Sustainable Development Goals.
With over 55,000 employees, of which 17,800 ATCOs, in 37 service providers and 62 en-route facilities in Europe, the sector can clearly benefit from economies of scale and economies of learning. Therefore, it is strategically important to build an environment where best practices are exchanged, learning is tailored to the ATM context and the sector is seen as one standing for inclusion, diversity and innovation.
The definition of diversity includes, but is not restricted to gender, age, disabilities, religion, nationality, ethnicity, wealth, education, family situation, and cognitive diversity.

Main findings

Aviation needs to ensure that the diversity of aviation leaders and the wider workforce more closely matches the diversity in our local, national and European-wide societies to ensure that we are able to tap into the full talent pool of personnel. Inclusion, which forms the base for psychological safety also contributes to a better safety culture. Even though there is wide acceptance of the EC directives and UN SDGs, there is great difficulty to translate them into actions. Given that the political and societal will is so strong, there is a clear need to provide pragmatic and efficient approaches to achieve Inclusion and Diversity in aviation.
The I&D Work so far has been largely segregated and executed on local level. More efficiency and faster results will be achieved if there is a collaborative approach to leverage scale of economies and economies of knowledge. People and organisations need to actively engage on the topic on strategic local, international, and organisational levels.