Menzies Aviation, the leading service partner to the world’s airports and airlines, has become a signatory of the United Nations’ (UN) Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). The move demonstrates the company’s commitment to advancing gender equality and inclusivity and supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within its operation and the communities in which it operates.

The WEPs provide a powerful framework to advance gender equality and set a global norm for the private sector, putting transparency, accountability and the tracking of progress and results at the center of the principles. In line with SDG5 which concerns global gender equality, the seven principles focus on promoting equal opportunities, fair treatment, and non-discrimination for women, while also encouraging corporate leadership to drive positive change.

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The announcement follows Menzies’ participation in the UN Target Gender Equality programme in 2022. That same year, Menzies launched its Women in Leadership programme, completed by more than 70 people with more cohorts planned, and earlier this year it launched an allyship campaign to empower colleagues to show up as allies at work, supporting women and other under-represented minorities.

Menzies is aligned with the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) 25by2025 industry-wide campaign, aimed at shifting key diversity and inclusion metrics across the aviation industry by 25%, or up to a minimum of 25% by 2025. Mirroring this commitment, Menzies is making strides to increase the proportion of females in its own senior leadership population from 19% in 2022 to a minimum of 25% by 2025, and middle leadership from 31% in 2022 to at least 40% by 2033.

Menzies’ move to support the UN WEP is part of the company’s broader commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive culture where its employees can thrive. It is implementing unconscious bias training, and has established a long-term plan to improve its practices and employee experiences, with a greater focus on family friendly policies – as outlined in its 2022 Annual Review & Sustainability Report.

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Juliet Thomson, Chief People Officer, Menzies Aviation, said: “We’re proud to show our support and commitment to advocating gender equality at Menzies Aviation. Our people are at the heart of our business and our success, and we want them to experience equity of opportunity, to feel respected and supported to learn and develop, and to be able to be themselves. We look forward to implementing the Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) framework and taking the next step in our own journey to create a more inclusive, diverse and equitable business that benefits every employee.”

Established by UN Women and UN Global Compact, the WEPs are informed by international labour and human rights standards and grounded in the recognition that businesses have a stake in, and a responsibility for, gender equality and women’s empowerment. For more information, visit https://www.weps.org/.

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