Qatar Airways boss apologises for remarks on women CEOs

SYDNEY:

The head of Qatar Airways apologised for saying that a woman could not do his job, while global airlines pledged to speed up efforts to break down gender imbalances in aviation.

Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker said his remarks at the closing of a global airlines gathering on Tuesday had been intended as a joke and taken out of context.

He defended his airline’s record of gender diversity, saying 44 percent of its staff were female including some in senior positions.

“Quite frankly I think the press took it out of context. They ... blew it out of proportion. It was just a joke...I apologise for it,” Al Baker told a CAPA-Centre for Aviation conference in Sydney.

Asked on Tuesday about female employment among Middle East airlines and why his job as CEO could not be done by a woman, al Baker had said: “Of course it has to be led by a man because it is a very challenging position.”

He made the comments at a news conference following a meeting of airlines group International Air Transport Association (IATA), moments after being elected its chairman.

The remarks drew criticism on social media.

The issue of gender imbalance in aviation was a hot topic at the threeday annual meeting of IATA – only six of whose 280 member airlines, or two per cent, have female chief executives.

Al Baker later said Qatar Airways was the first carrier in the Middle East to have female pilots.

On Wednesday, the directorgeneral of IATA noted that al Baker had earlier apologised for his comments.

“But the immediate reaction illustrated that expectations for change are high. And it is absolutely clear that aviation has a lot of work to do on gender balance at senior levels,” Alexandre de Juniac added in a blog on IATA’s website. ‘Long way to go’

Al Baker is one of the airline industry’s most outspoken figures, known for provocative and often humorous criticism of rival airlines or suppliers, but he has also drawn criticism over the judgment of some of his declarations.

In 2017 he apologised after calling US flight attendants “grandmothers” during a trade row with US airlines, prompting an airline union to accuse him of sexism and age discrimination.

In 2014, Qatar Airways defended policies on pregnancy and marriage for cabin crew after coming under fire over working conditions in the conservative Gulf emirate.

Asked at Wednesday’s CAPA conference whether he truly believed that only a man could do his job, Al Baker said, “No, I don’t believe that. As a matter of fact (at) Air Italy the majority shareholder has shortlisted women to be CEO and as minority shareholder we are actively encouraging that.”

Sharing a podium, Willie Walsh, the head of British Airways owner IAG, said the industry had a long way to go in promoting women, starting with IATA, a quasi-international organization with two women on its 31-person board. — Reuters

“Quite frankly I think the press took it out of context. They ... blew it out of proportion. It was just a joke...I apologize for it.” Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways chief executive