The event, in recognition of the worldwide celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March, focused on diversity and women in leadership in the local transportation industry. Bombardier fosters diversity and equal opportunities for female employee’s interest and professional development and is committed to providing a work environment free of barriers and biases. Bombardier firmly believes that gender diversity and women in leadership are essential elements to long-term success in South Africa.
In the aviation sector, Bombardier is globally a member of several diversity associations, including Women in Aviation International, and offers scholarships to support the development of women in aviation around the globe. They are also a strong advocate of the Women in Rail community and are active participants in the national conversation on practical ways for women to drive their careers forward. As they develop game-changing products at Bombardier, it is apparent that diversity drives ingenuity and innovation, which is what Bombardier is all about.
Aubrey Lekwane, chief country representative for South Africa at Bombardier Transportation said, “With the goal to make our operations in South Africa more attractive to female employees and encourage more heterogeneous teams, we have taken various steps such as launching Women Empowerment Committee (WEC), Women in Engineering (WIN) and Prevention of Sexual Harassment Committee (POSH) across our sites to increase diversity and greater involvement of women. In April, our female employees have planned to spend a day with girls aged between 11 and 20 from various foundations Bombardier is supporting in South Africa. This will help the girls get an experience of a professional work-life and provide an overview at careers mainly focusing on technical and manufacturing jobs.”
Bombardier places a lot of stress on women’s professional development, training, education and mentoring and is committed to the professional development and greater inclusion of female employees in managerial roles supporting profitability and sustainability of the organisation helping in moving millions of people daily globally.
