DGCA for gender equality

New Delhi Civil aviation regulator DGCA has set up a four-member committee to provide suggestions for achieving gender equality in the aviation sector in India. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued an order on August 10, 2023 stating that the objective of this committee is to suggest steps that DGCA should take to bring gender equality in the aviation sector.

The four senior officers appointed as members of the committee are Survita Saxena, Director (Operations); R P Kashyap, Director (Training); Pavan Malviya, Deputy Director (Administration); and Kavita Singh, Deputy Director (Aircraft Engineering Directorate). They are supposed to formulate norms and submit them to DGCA which the regulator will further circulate among aviation stakeholders to adopt and bring in practice for gender equality. “The committee will submit its report/recommendation within six months from the date of its constitution,” the order said. The initiative is in line with the commitment of International Civil Aviation Organisations (ICAO) which aims to promote participation of women and achieve an aspirational goal of 50-50 (women-men) by 2030 at all professional and higher levels of employment in the global aviation sector. Aviation professionals, operators and stakeholders have lauded the constitution of the committee and said the move will help create new opportunities for women in this field. They said that the Indian aviation sector already has a fair presence of female workers in certain professional categories such as pilots.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also acknowledged this fact in his address to the nation from the ramport of Lal Quila on the 77th Independence Day when he said that India has the highest number of women pilots in the world.