Within the scope of the Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week activities, which aims to foster gender balance in aviation by increasing the number and level of women in the aviation industry, this year, within the scope of the Gender Balance Fostering Instruction (SHT-TCD), the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will organize a symposium on “gender balance at the Turkish Civil Aviation Academy (Istanbul) on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, with the theme of “Women in Airports.”

In line with the Institute for Women Of Aviation Worldwide (iWOAW), and under the Instruction for Gender Balance Fostering in Civil Aviation (SHT-TCD), DGCA accepted the week covering the 8th day of March every year (between Monday and Sunday) as “Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week” in memory of the first female pilot of the world, Baroness Raymonde de Laroche, obtaining her pilot license on March 8, 1910, and organizes female outreach events throughout Turkey to foster gender balance in aviation.

The DGCA sets up and enforces rules in Turkey to increase sector-based capacity, productivity, and aviation activities and checks the implementation of the regulations set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to ensure that the aviation activities are carried out safely and securely. In this context, within the framework of the “Principle of Equality” in the Turkish Constitution, the DGCA published the Gender Balance Fostering Instruction (SHT-TCD) guide in 2018 to ensure the sustainability of the equality principle and to foster a gender balance in the national aviation industry.

As part of its systematic efforts in the field of developing gender balance in aviation, the DGCA established the “Gender Balance Fostering Commission (GBFC)” and the “Gender Balance Fostering Commission Advisory Board (GBFC AB)” with members from the authority and selected companies, schools and NGOs in the aviation sector to encourage women to consider education and training areas related to aviation, to monitor gender balance in the civil aviation sector and to develop proposals to foster this balance, and to conduct studies to create equality of opportunities for genders in the selection of aviation professions.

Within the scope of the Symposium which will be held during Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week between March 2-8, 2020, with the theme of "Women in the Airports" due to the commissioning of Istanbul Airport; two panels will be held at the Turkish Civil Aviation Academy titled: "Women in Workforce in the Airport" and "Women in Business & Management in the Airport" on March 4, 2020. The successful female students who participated in the essay contest related to the women of aviation will also be invited to the event.

You can find detailed information on the Gender Balance Symposium, which aims to contribute to foster gender balance in Turkish civil aviation under SHT-TCD instruction at www.tcdg.org.tr

Editor Note: The date of the Gender Balance Symposium has been postponed due to the fact that Turkish Soldiers were killed in the İdlib region of Syria on 27 February 2020. The rescheduled date of the Symposium will be announced by the Gender Balance Symposium Executive Committee in the coming days..