Women in Motion: celebrating the women driving change at Airbus
This blog shares insight into Airbus' recent 'Women in Motion' campaign, highlighting how the company is driving gender diversity across the aerospace industry.
10th Apr 2024
What inspired the Women in Motion campaign, and what does it aim to achieve?
Airbus is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace that values diversity, creates a sense of belonging and is accessible to all. This campaign, which follows on from ‘People in Motion’, aims to highlight the various opportunities for personal and professional development within the company. It shows how Airbus encourages women's career development and motivates them to explore new
sectors.
What challenges do women in aerospace face, and how is Airbus working to breakdown barriers?
Women in aerospace continue to face hurdles such as gender bias, under-representation, and workplace inequality, even with progress. Airbus acknowledges these challenges and strives to overcome them through training, workshops, and awareness sessions. Airbus is also working to change mindsets, and not only among women. With 22% of executive positions occupied by women at end-2024, Airbus has made great strides at the top level of the business. The trend is confirmed in 2025 with the recruitment of Carmen Maja-Rex as Chief Human Resources Officer and member of the Executive Committee.
What initiatives or programmes are in place to create an inclusive and diverse workplace?
Airbus embeds diversity and inclusion in its core values. Networking Groups such as the Women's Interactive Network (WIN) foster professional growth. Airbus also offers awareness workshops, mentoring and internal development programmes, including MyWay which is designed to equip women in the middle of their careers with the tools and confidence they need to excel in leadership roles at Airbus.
How does Airbus ensure transparency and fairness in career progression opportunities for women?
The Company offers leadership programmes that are gender-balanced. Women are invited to take part in the in-house training and learning sessions for continuous improvement. They are offered development opportunities and equally considered in succession planning. Our key figures related to workforce diversity, as of end-2024, show that women make up 21% of the workforce and 22% of our Executive positions. In 2024, 30% of new white collar hires were women and we met our 12% target for female hires in manufacturing, which is an area we want to encourage more women to work in.
Can you share any success stories of women at Airbus who have made a significant impact?
We have many such stories! One of them is Sophie Berets. As Head of Ground Test Operations within the Aisle Final assembly Line (FAL) in Hamburg, Sophie co-leads a team of 260 people. Their job is to test the aircraft and make sure everything is working as it should during assembly. Passionate about flying and aeronautics since the age of 15, Sophie studied aeronautical engineering before joining the Airbus graduate programme in Toulouse in 2010. She started out on the A350 Programme then moved to Hamburg in 2012. Since then she has been working within A320 Family Operations / Production, with very different roles and perspectives. Sophie started with improvement projects on the shop floor. She then got a more strategic and international view, as Executive Assistant to the Head of A320 FALs (Hamburg, Toulouse, Tianjin, Mobile). She led large Industrial projects and then moved towards leadership roles in production, starting as Station Leader . Contributing to setting up the most modern assembly line in Hamburg, and taking over the management of the cabin installation team is a moment Sophie is particularly proud of. It was her first management role, as a young French woman in a 100% German production environment. Other inspiring testimonies are available here.
How does Airbus support work-life balance for women?
Airbus prioritises creating the right conditions for work and makes flexible working a core part of its employer value proposition. The Company supports employees during maternity and paternity leave, ensuring equal opportunities for progression upon their return. Airbus achieved first place for the Flexa award in 2025 for having the highest rated work-life balance.
What role do mentorship and networking play in empowering women at Airbus?
Both are key to boosting motivation and engagement, while helping to retain female talent. Dedicated networks such as WIN help women to reflect on their next career move. Through peer to peer coaching and mentorship, women are able to discover more about themselves, or business areas that could be of interest. As an example over 400 women are currently mentored through the MyWay Leadership programme.
How can the industry as a whole do better in attracting emerging female talent?
It starts with inspiring a passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects early in school. Providing young girls with access to STEM topics at all educational stages is essential. Collaboration with organisations like Elles Bougent and the German Aerospace Industry Association BDLI are key. Airbus connects students with female role models through programmes including "We build it better" or at early career events. Direct entry points such as the Airbus Global Graduate Programme (AGGP) also provide opportunities.