At EUROCONTROL we’re keen to help women realise their aviation dreams. 11 April saw our Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC) participate in “Girlsday”, an event organised by VHTO, the Dutch National expert organisation on girls/women and science/technology.
Girlsday aims to stimulate the imagination and creativity of young girls, and to encourage them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by showing them opportunities for careers in technical companies and organisations, where women are classically underrepresented. That’s certainly true of aviation, where currently only 22% of the transport workforce is female - and is something we at EUROCONTROL want to play our part in improving, which is why we joined the European Commission’s ‘Women in Transport’ initiative last year.
On Girlsday 2019 MUAC opened its doors to an enthusiastic group of 14 to 15-year-old girls to discover what it would be like to do the job of an air traffic controller or a software engineer, the two main career possibilities at the Centre.
The girls were able to meet female controllers and controller students, and also try their hand at controlling aircraft in the simulator. Women software engineers working in teams responsible for MUAC’s leading-edge air traffic management (ATM) systems also gave the participants a taste of how systems are put in place and maintained in order to ensure safe and efficient ATM using the latest technology.
This event was part of EUROCONTROL’s “Meet the 22%” campaign which we are rolling out across our communications channels, external events and recruitment activities to explain the great careers we offer in aviation, and our commitment to ensuring a diverse, gender-balanced and inclusive workplace.