Africa shines as Fadimatou clinches IATA Diversity and Inclusion ‘High Flyer’ Award

A Cameroonian, Fadimatou Noutchemo Simo made Africa proud as she emerged the winner of the ‘High Flyer’ category of the inaugural IATA Diversity & Inclusion Awards held at the concluded 75th Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in Seoul, Korea.

“The IATA Diversity & Inclusion Awards are sponsored by Qatar Airways. Each winner receives a prize of $25,000, payable to the winner in each of the categories or to their nominated charities.”says IATA.

Other categories winners are:

•       Inspirational Role Model: Christine Ourmières-Widener, CEO, Flybe
•       Diversity & Inclusion Team: Air New Zealand.

Nominations for the awards were adjudicated by a panel of four judges: Angela Gittens, Director General, Airports Council International; Gloria Guevara, President and CEO, World Travel and Tourism Council; Mark Pilling, Vice President Publishing and Conferences, FlightGlobal; and Karen Walker, Editor-in-Chief, Air Transport World.

“Selecting the winners was a difficult task. The large number of high-quality applications reflects the breadth of work being done across the industry on gender diversity and inclusion. There can only be one winner in each category, but all the applicants should inspire the industry to move forward. To meet the demands of the future, aviation needs a diverse and inclusive workforce,” said Angela Gittens, on behalf of the judging panel.

“I congratulate all the nominees and winners of these awards, all of them should be proud of what they have achieved and how they are contributing to the Diversity & Inclusion agenda.  Our industry is diverse and we need an equally diverse and inclusive workforce to meet their needs.  But there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve the balance we need, particularly on gender diversity at senior levels. Today’s impressive awardees both demonstrate and inspire progress,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.