Diversity and Inclusion

At our airline, you’ll find women working in virtually every area of the operation, many of them in non-traditional roles. That’s because Air Canada actively encourages and supports equal opportunities regardless of gender.

Nearly half of our 37,000 employees are women. They occupy positions throughout the company – working alongside their male colleagues not only in flight decks and on board our aircraft, but also in airports, legal and accounting departments and right up to the office of executive management. Indeed, in the executive suite, women hold the most senior roles as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Senior Vice President, People and Culture, Chief Information Officer, Corporate Secretary and Vice President, In-Flight Service.

In Fall 2018, Women in Governance held its Annual Recognition Gala in Montreal, awarding Air Canada its Parity Certification along with 30 other organizations from all over Canada and to mark their exceptional commitment to gender equality in the workplace.

Employee Resource Group: Women in ACM
For women occupying non-traditional roles, women in Air Canada Maintenance created a committee to provide the women of ACM with a forum to explore and learn about women in leadership roles through networking, exploring their own personal development. This forum, aligned with our corporate initiative, started with a small group of approximately 10 women in 2013 to it’s current membership of 200. The group is open to both management and unionized employees.

Partnerships are essential. We work with numerous Aboriginal programs, media and job fairs to hire First Nations people across Canada.

Since 1993 Air Canada has been a sponsor of The Indspire Awards to recognize Indigenous professionals and youth with outstanding career achievements. Recipients are chosen to serve as role models for all Indigenous peoples. In addition, since 2016, we sponsor the Indspire Bursaries and Scholarships to support Aboriginal students in their post-secondary education, apprenticeships and skilled trades programs.

Along with Jazz, Air Canada created a partnership with FNTI (First Nation Technical Institute) in order to help young Aboriginals in becoming pilots.

With our international expansion and the diversity amongst our customers and stakeholders, it is only natural that their cultural sensitivities are reflected in our workforce and services.

Although always a progressive corporation, Air Canada in recent years has taken additional steps to increase diversity in its workforce. There are an estimated 60 languages spoken and counting by Air Canada employees and 26 per cent of employees belong to visible minorities.

We foster a workplace environment where all employees with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities can feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work.

Air Canada is a proud partner of Pride at Work and a strong supporter of Pride Celebrations and HIV/AIDS causes across the country.