Airline cited for promoting women, fostering workplace inclusion
MONTREAL, Feb. 24, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada has been named one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers for 2016, recognizing the airline's success in such areas as promoting women and fostering an inclusive workplace for its 28,000 employees. The award, presented by Mediacorp Canada Inc., is based on its Canada's Top 100 Employers project, which also included Air Canada for the third consecutive year for 2016.
"Promoting diversity and inclusion is not only the right thing to do, it is also essential for any organization that wants to attract and retain the best available talent. For an expanding global carrier such as Air Canada, it is also vital that our diverse customer base see itself reflected in our workforce and diversity also enables us to better accommodate our customers' varied needs and expectations," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive of Air Canada.
"We are very pleased to be recognized for our efforts promoting diversity at Air Canada, where an entire department is devoted to this important company-wide initiative. Recently, its mandate was strengthened with a new Employment Equity and Diversity Action Plan to further ensure our workplace remains inclusive and welcoming so that employees can comfortably be who they are and achieve their full potential."
In citing Air Canada, Mediacorp noted that 43 per cent of middle managers and 32 per cent of vice-presidents are women and that Air Canada maintains three diversity committees across Canada. Each year, Air Canada reports on its progress with respect to diversity in Citizens of the World, Air Canada's Corporate Sustainability Report available at http://www.aircanada.ca. Highlights from the forthcoming report include:
- There are an estimated 60 languages spoken by Air Canada employees and 20 per cent of employees belong to visible minorities;
- Air Canada employs more than 300 individuals self-identified as disabled;
- Since 1993 Air Canada has been a sponsor of The Indspire Awards to recognize indigenous professionals and youth with outstanding career achievements. Recipients are chosen to serve as role models for all indigenous peoples.
- Air Canada has signed the Catalyst Accord, an undertaking sponsored by the internationally-recognized group, Catalyst, committing to increase the number of women on its Board of Directors to 25 per cent by 2017.
About Canada's Best Diversity Employers Awards
Now entering its 10th year, the Canada's Best Diversity Employers competition recognizes the nation's leaders in creating inclusive workplaces for employees from five diverse groups: women; visible minorities; persons with disabilities; Aboriginal peoples; and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) peoples. Employers are selected by the editors at Mediacorp based on submissions to the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers project, which has been published annually since 1999.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 200 airports on six continents. Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2015 served more than 41 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 63 airports in Canada, 52 in the United States and 86 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,321 airports in 193 countries. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax. For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.
SOURCE Air Canada
