In collaboration with the association “Elles Bougent”, Airbus Group invited more than 20 young female students to visit the A380 Final Assembly Line in Toulouse and to participate in round tables where female Airbus engineers discussed their experiences to inspire them to choose technical and engineering careers.

The objectives of these meetings were: to prove to younger women that aeronautics and engineering jobs are fascinating and rewarding; to underline and prove from experience that there are jobs that are accessible and completely suitable for women in a predominantly male dominated industry; and to demonstrate, via these testimonials, that successful technical/scientific careers are possible and can even become a passion.

“We strive to convey our experience and passion to promote scientific and technical cultures towards younger women,” said Line Martinez, Airbus Engineer and Project Manager, also regional representative of “Elles Bougent” in Midi Pyrénées. “We aim to fight stereotypes, which are too often instrumental in limiting the initial career choices of women.”

Airbus Group has built long term partnerships with associations such as “Elles Bougent”, Capital Filles and Femtec as well as schools and universities to encourage young women into science and engineering.

“In Airbus Group, we believe that diversity fosters innovation, performance and engagement. We therefore actively seek to attract more female talent to ensure gender balance in our workforce to meet our future needs,” said Suzie Lewis, Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Airbus Group.

Airbus Group is seeking to foster an inclusive culture for all its employees of different ages, gender, backgrounds, skills profiles and cultures as well and welcome and support people with disabilities. The Group wants to reflect the nature of the population it serves worldwide and sees diversity as a strong competitive advantage and a vital part of its identity.

In April 2014, out of 1,000 “Elles Bougent” female mentors at the national level, 147 are Airbus Group employees. Out of 118 female mentors in Midi Pyrénées, half of them are from Airbus Group.