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In for the Long Haul – Transforming Aviation, Empowering Women
For Adefunke Adeyemi, joining aviation made her an industry powerhouse and an advocate of women’s empowerment.
As Regional Director of External Affairs and Sustainability (Africa) at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) based in Nigeria, Adefunke is no newcomer to the global aviation scene. Since 2014, she has been championing the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market and the African Continental Free Trade Area – initiatives that will lead to a continent better connected by air. In recognition of her outstanding contribution to African aviation and route development on the continent, Adefunke was awarded the Ato Girma Wake Lifetime Achievement Award at AviaDev Africa 2021, a platform dedicated to growing connectivity to, from, and within the African continent.
You headed the Diversity and Inclusion initiative of IATA in Africa and Middle East, as well as its Women in Leadership initiative until 2017. Why is female empowerment so important?
Says Adefunke: “Aviation has traditionally been a male-dominated sector where the majority of women work as cabin crew, in ground services, administration, or middle to lower management. There are very few women in top or senior leadership positions. Women account for only 3% of airline CEOs in the world and 8% of C-suite or top executives. Some of the world’s highest paying jobs are in aviation – for example, pilots, and flight engineers – yet only 10% of these are women.
At IATA, we encourage our female workforce to know what they are capable of and to fulfil their potential. We recently launched a “25 by 2025” campaign, which is an integral part of our Diversity and Inclusion focus, to help ensure that IATA, airlines, and companies in the air transport ecosystem have at least 25% of women in senior leadership positions or in underrepresented roles by 2025.
I believe that more women are needed in management positions and in technical areas, be it in aviation or other sectors in general. Women bring different but necessary perspectives for more balanced decision-making and leadership. That said, I also believe that women should not be given a free pass just because we are the fairer sex. Instead, we should focus on building up what I call my ‘7 Cs’ – character, courage, confidence, competence, capital, commitment, and charisma. These are critical attributes that will ensure success for any woman in whatever career or stage of life they are in.
This brings me to my all-time favourite quote by Michelle Obama: “No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens.” I feel this should be a guiding principle towards gender balance.”
Adefunke truly believes aviation is the business of freedom and connectivity,
uniting people from all over the world
The pandemic brought aviation almost to a standstill. What were your first thoughts and reactions when it struck?
“Aviation is the business of freedom, giving freedom to the entire world to connect relatively safely, securely, and sustainably. It links people, goods, services, knowledge, ideas, cultures, facilitates trade and tourism; and even helps deliver aid. It is a force for good in our world. I firmly believe in this,” says Adefunke.
Having worked at IATA for more than 11 years in various roles, her passion for aviation is evident. “While COVID-19 severed global and regional connectivity due to border closures, it also helped bring the world closer together in unprecedented ways,” says Adefunke, whose role includes engaging with stakeholders – from governments and industry partners to influencers and businesses – to advocate growth and sustainability in the aviation industry, thereby creating positive impact for the people and economies of Africa and around the world.
“As a whole new virtual world built on technology and connectivity took shape during the pandemic, the red tape I often had to deal with in previous years actually eased. The atmosphere became a lot more collaborative, creating a camaraderie borne from being in it together,” she adds.
From the jobs the aviation sector has created globally (more than 65.5 million jobs in 2019) to its global economic impact (over US$2.7 trillion in 2019), Adefunke is fully aware of the impact of her role in bringing about an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Africa, and an even tightly knit aviation world.
As a matter of fact, it was a Memorandum of Understanding between IATA and Nanyang Business School – to launch new courses in aviation in Singapore – that led her to enrol in an Advanced Management Programme in Aviation in 2011. She subsequently joined the Nanyang EMBA programme in 2012 to gain in-depth knowledge and understanding of how she can take the industry further for Africa.
Aviation and sustainability are often perceived as mutually exclusive. Your take?
Aviation and sustainability are often perceived as mutually exclusive. Your take?
Says Adeyemi: “Aviation and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. Aviation was among the first sectors to proactively take steps to reduce CO2 emissions, with a climate action strategy resulting in significant sustainability gains based on the pillars of operational improvements, infrastructure efficiencies, technological innovations, and market-based or economic measures.
The last pillar had governments around the world adopting the CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) in 2016. Our focus is now on achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, following a historic resolution passed at IATA’s AGM in October 2021. The next step is to create a clear plan of action towards achieving net-zero, with focus on sustainable aviation fuels and new, radical technologies.”
Adefunke with Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation at the International Civil Aviation
Organisation Assembly in Montreal in September 2019
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