>https://www.chicagobusiness.com/equity/airlines-dei-efforts-navigate-polarized-political-landscape
Airlines look to navigate political turbulence around their diversity commitments
July 15, 2024
Chicago is seeing the culture wars play out in the crew compartments and boardrooms of major airlines that have their hubs at O'Hare and Midway airports.
For the past five years or longer, the "big four" airlines — American, Delta, United and Southwest — have been striving to rectify the racial, ethnic and gender imbalances in the traditionally white, male bastion of aviation.
Crain's Forum
Women represent only 8.3% of U.S. aircraft pilots and flight engineers, while 3.6% are Black, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Black women make up less than 1% of pilots. These statistics haven’t budged in years, prompting United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby to commit that half the class at its Aviate pilot training academy be women or people of color.
But when Kirby’s remarks from a 2021 interview were reposted earlier this year by a conservative media outlet, a torrent of vitriolic comments spooled on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Airline pilots should be selected based on merit,” wrote one critic. “Wanna die for the sake of hiring quotas? Welcome aboard United,” wrote another…..