In a press statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, Abdulaziz Al Ali, Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Emirates, said “Emirates is committed to providing equal opportunities at the workplace for both women and men across all business functions.

“We are proud of our women colleagues and their immense contribution to the growth and success of the airline. We hope that they can continue to inspire and be role models for girls and women across the globe interested in pursuing careers in aviation”.

The statement said Emirates currently employs more than 29,000 women from over 150 nationalities.  “Over 18,000 work as cabin crew, while the rest are represented across technical as well as in professional and leadership roles”.

It said close to 2.5 per cent of the total female staff occupies managerial positions in the airline, and women were also progressively working and advancing in roles that were more traditionally represented by their male counterparts.

According to the statement, the number of women employees at Emirates over the past decade had increased in line with the airline’s growth. The proportion of women as part of the airline’s total workforce had also grown by six per cent during same period, it added.

It said Emirates’ female cockpits crews which were between the ages of 20- 59years emanate from 24 nationalities ranging from pilots to aircraft engineers, cargo supervisors to flight dispatchers as well as pilot cadets.

The statement said Captain Darwish was the first woman of Arab origin to have captained the Airbus A380.  “First Officer Al Muhairi, a UAE national, is currently the youngest Emirate female pilot operating the Emirates A380 aircraft.”

In Emirates Engineering, women work as licensed aircraft engineers, mechanics, and technicians for aircraft maintenance and repairs.   “Women also work at critical positions in flight operations both on the ramp as operations managers, turnaround coordinators, aircraft loading supervisors, load controllers, as well as flight dispatchers and duty managers in the operations centre, the statement added.