A Brighter Future
United Airlines embeds DEI into its DNA.
United Airlines is not only committed to focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at every level of the corporate and travel experience, but also devoted to ensuring DEI is part of its DNA, from employees to customers to the communities they serve.
Last year, United became the only major U.S. airline to run its own flight school – United Aviate Academy. This year, they announced an ambitious initiative to train 5,000 new pilots by 2030, with the goal at least 50% of them will be women or people of color. United Aviate Academy’s plan is funded by scholarship commitments from United and Jpmorgan Chase, as well as a partnership with Sallie Mae to assist students with financing. Both United and Chase committed $1.2 million each in scholarship funding.
Additionally, United works with various organizations — including the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, Sisters of the Skies, Latino Pilots Association and Professional Asian Pilots Association — and Historically Black Colleges and Universities such as Delaware State University, Elizabeth City State University and Hampton University — to identify and steer qualified candidates to the program.
United is taking action to build a culture of greater inclusion and belonging to better reflect the diversity of the communities it serves. The airline’s newest inflight entertainment system, which debuted on the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner, offers the world’s most extensive suite of accessibility features. Some of the most noteworthy features include text-to-speech and customizable voice volume, speed and pitch. Explore-by-touch options let you magnify the screen, customize the text size, and choose high-contrast text, color correction and color inversion options. Custom messaging can be tailored for people who are hard of hearing, and additional navigation options ease accessibility for mobility-impaired passengers. The system won a Crystal
Cabin award in 2019.
The redesigned version of the United app is enhanced for people who are visually impaired, as 25 million Americans have self-reported a travel-limiting disability, according to the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center. Enhancements include increased color contrast and added space between graphics. The app also reordered how information is displayed and announced, integrating better with screen reader technologies like Voiceover and Talkback which allows text to be better converted into audio in the proper, logical sequence.
United is continuing to support and celebrate LGBTQ+ employees and customers. This year marks a decade of the company’s recognition as a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality” with a perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index, the benchmarking report from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation that surveys corporate policies relating to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. United also partners with the HRC Foundation on its training initiatives. As the first U.S. airline to recognize domestic partnerships in 1999 and to offer non-binary gender options across all booking channels in 2019, United has led the way in its commitment to LGBTQ+ equality. In 2019, the airline was also the first public company inducted into Pride Live’s Stonewall Ambassador Program.
Driven by its shared purpose to connect people and unite the world, United is doing its part to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace, airline and world.