In the past year, the Aerospace Industries recorded a dramatic increase of almost 4 times in the number of women who applied for tenders for senior management positions: 37% of the candidates who applied for these positions were women, compared to only 10% the previous year. One of the reasons for this is the ‘School for CEOs’ program that is led by the company, and is designed to train women for senior positions in the defense industries, which started its second cycle this week.
In the second cycle of the program, which is operated in collaboration with the Supersons company for the promotion and training of women in organizations, 29 female employees of the company participate. According to the Aerospace Industry, the training focuses on the fields relevant to the defense worlds and the management field in particular, such as conducting negotiations in a multicultural environment and innovation as a strategic value. During the program, introductory meetings are held with senior women from defense organizations in Israel, and dedicated career management meetings that include competing for internal tenders, creating Networking, analysis of financial reports and more.
Along with the meetings, the participants in the program build a personal axis for professional development, and receive the tools to deal with barriers facing women who wish to advance to senior management positions. The Aerospace Industry says that “during the meetings, a community is created that is an anchor for the participants, a fertile ground for the transfer of knowledge and collaborations, and a source of support and strength that they use later in their career path”.
Among the 27 female graduates of the first cycle of the program, 20% have already advanced to a higher professional or managerial level, and45% More of the graduates are in the process of applying for senior management tenders. The aerospace industry notes a slight increase in the proportion of senior positions held by women in the past year, which was about 20%, compared to 18% the year before.
Adi Hershtat, the VP of the ASMA (International Sanctions, Compliance, Gender and Fairness) in the aerospace industry: “The significant increase in the number of women who submitted nominations for tenders for senior management positions is the result of active engagement in the promotion of women in the company, and thanks, among other things, to the school for CEOs. We anticipate that the same increase in the number of approaches to senior management tenders and the continuation of the dedicated activity for the promotion of women in the company with the full backing of the management, will translate into a significant increase in the number of women who will advance to senior management positions in the company, already in the near future.”
CEO of IAI, Boaz Levy: “As the largest and leading defense company in Israel, IAI sees importance in leading change to promote the values of gender equality. In a time of war in which all of the company’s employees, both men and women, are recruited both for combat and for daily activities for the benefit of the IDF and the defense system, we are proud of the contribution of the employees of the aerospace industry, both to the protection of the security of the country and its citizens in the development of advanced technologies, and to business success in the most profitable period in our history, which results from intensive activity in Israel and abroad“.
The founder and president of Supersons, Hana Redo: “Especially in these times, we are present to know how important and significant the women at the forefront of Israeli society are; the women who fight bravely, the women who were the first to identify and the women who manage the home front. Happily, our partners understand the importance of including women in senior positions in the economy, especially when Thanks to the partnership with the aerospace industry, we will be able to promote many women to management positions in the defense sector as well, we will ensure the presence of female security experts in the public arena and bring the country to better achievements“.
