Cathay Pacific has pledged that it will increase representation of women in senior positions by 25 per cent. That means, by 2025, the Airline aims to have 30 per cent women in senior roles.
That is not all, as the Airline reveals in its Sustainable Development Report 2021, it has set up a special Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Steering Committee and a dedicated team in 2021, to help accelerate decision making on issues pertaining to inclusion. The Airline has also opened its first gender-neutral bathroom at Cathay City.
A review of the Airline’s formal Hire-to-Retire process has led to several revisions to current policies and introduction of certain new policies basis the needs of employees, talent acquisition and management as well as areas for development.
The parental leave policy has been revised to cover all family circumstances instead of just the traditional mother and father roles. Staff in Hong Kong are allowed to self-declare as either the primary or secondary caregiver (unless they have physically given birth to the child, in which case they are can take 14 weeks of leave under Hong Kong Law).
Primary caregivers are entitled to 14 weeks of leave, and secondary caregivers can take five working days off.
The focus on ‘gender and sexual orientation’ has increased via its employee-resource groups.
Augustus Tang, CEO, Cathay Pacific, realises “We need to work towards having a truly inclusive workplace – a workplace where people feel comfortable to share their thoughts and opinions freely”.
According to him, “Our people’s distinct experiences and diversity of thought can give us a competitive edge in understanding customers from all corners of the world – their needs, their behaviours and what drives them”.
The Cathay Women’s Network aims to strengthen messages of gender equality and women’s empowerment, even while stressing on the importance of work-life balance. The Network ran a corporate-wide survey in 2021, to better understand how the Women’s Network can support the needs of the women in its workforce. Every year, in October, the Airline’s ‘Fly Pink’ campaign offers charity sales and activities to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research, and prostate cancer.
