Broke the "Glass Ceiling"

[Malcolm]

She started as a flight attendant at age 20. Now, she's just been named Japan Airlines' first female president.

 

Japan Airlines' first-ever female president Mitsuko Tottori worked as cabin crew for 20 years with the company. Marcio Rodrigo Machado/S3studio/Getty Images© Marcio Rodrigo Machado/S3studio/Getty Images

• Japan Airlines named a woman as president for the first time in its history. 
• Mitsuko Tottori worked as a flight attendant with JAL for 20 years before becoming a manager. 
• Tottori's appointment comes after JetBlue announced its first-ever female CEO on January 9.

The new president of Japan Airlines is the first woman to helm the top job at the company, the airline announced in a statement on Wednesday.

Mitsuko Tottori, 59, will take over as president on April 1, nine months after she was promoted to senior managing executive officer, according to JAL's statement.

Tottori first joined the company in 1985 and worked as a flight attendant for 20 years, per her company profile. In 2005, Tottori became JAL's manager for its cabin attendant department and was promoted to senior management in 2013, per the profile.

Tottori will replace Yuji Akasaka, the airline's president since June 2018, per Akasaka's company profile.

Tottori's appointment is a major step forward for women in Japan, a country known for a lack of gender equality in the workplace. In 2023, Japan ranked 125th out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap report, which tracks each country's progress in reducing gender parity. In comparison, the US ranked 43rd on the index.

 

Related video: Japan Airlines appoints first female president (Reuters)

 

Japan Airlines named its first female president on Wednesday.

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"There are female employees out there who are struggling with their career steps or going through big life events," Tottori said in a press conference in Tokyo, per Reuters.

"I hope my appointment as a president can encourage them, or give them the courage to take the next step," she added.

Two weeks before Tottori's promotion, a Japan Airlines A350 plane collided with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Tottori said in the press conference that she aims to prioritize flight safety once she takes over as president, per local newspaper The Mainichi.

"Safety is the foundation of airlines. I hope to tackle the issue of customer safety with renewed resolve," Tottori said, per The Mainichi.

Tottori's appointment comes after JetBlue announced on January 9 that Joanna Geraghty would become its CEO, becoming the first female CEO at a major US airline.

Japan Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

[Malcolm]

IBE

Calgary aviation museum showcases Canadian woman’s incredible feat

By Gil Tucker  Global News

Posted January 24, 2024 4:19 pm

The Hangar Flight Museum's Brian Desjardins tells visitors about the exhibit featuring aviation pioneer Elsie MacGill. Gil Tucker/Global News

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The people who run a Calgary museum are getting ready to welcome some big crowds in the weeks ahead.

Staff at the Hangar Flight Museum are proud to have a new chance to highlight a Canadian woman who helped turn the tides of history.

They’re showcasing the accomplishments of pioneering aeronautical engineer Elsie MacGill.

MacGill was in charge of an Ontario factory that produced the Hawker Hurricane fighter plane, which was crucial to victory in The Battle of Britain during the Second World War.

The exhibit focusing on MacGill features artifacts from Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame (CAHF), which is housed in the Hangar Flight Museum.

“To be the chief engineer on the Hawker Hurricane is an incredible feat, especially for women during the time of the Second World War,” the CAHF’s Katherine Simunkovic said. “I think it’s really important to showcase that, and understand that these are strides that we’ve made and that we can continue to make going forward.”

The exhibit features medals MacGill was awarded for her service and a reproduction of a 1942 comic book that celebrates her as the “Queen of the Hurricanes.”

“She was very famous during the Second World War,” the Hangar Flight Museum’s Brian Desjardins said.

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Museum visitors also see a large display version of the special new Canadian dollar coin that salutes MacGill’s service to the country.

“(The coin shows) the Hawker Hurricane and Elsie MacGill’s portrait is on there,” Desjardins said. “She’s holding the blueprint design of the Hawker Hurricane.”

Museum staff hope the exhibit will be popular with the large crowds expected during the upcoming Family Day long weekend.

“Family Day was our busiest day last year,” Desjardins said.

The MacGill exhibit is alongside a Hawker Hurricane aircraft, flown on patrols along Canada’s west coast during the Second World War.

“It’s awesome to have female role models to look up to, to know (what’s) possible,” museum visitor Brianne Cyr said. “Not only for myself, but for my kids too.”

[Malcolm]

Breaking the glass ceiling in aviation

ALUMNI IMPACT: Nancy Barber

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Nancy Barber had no idea she would be breaking glass ceilings when she enrolled in the Recreation and Leisure Studies program at the University of Waterloo in 1994.

But she soared to remarkable career heights in the male-dominated aviation industry, becoming the first female chief operating officer at Bombardier, a storied Canadian manufacturer of business jets.

Barber (BA ’98, Recreation and Leisure Studies) just recently left that position to start her own consulting company that is focused on sustainable aviation and advanced air mobility, a segment of the aviation industry that could become the future of urban transportation.

Her impact was recognized last year, when she was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women and also received the Elsie Award for Business from the Northern Lights Aero Foundation in recognition of her contributions to aviation and aerospace in Canada.

Executive suites

Her initial goal in recreation and leisure studies was to get into the management side of the travel and hospitality business. That changed after she got a summer internship position at Bombardier, a company where her father worked as an engineer. She loved the job and after she graduated, the company offered her a permanent position. Over the course of the next 22 years, she advanced up the career ladder, eventually landing in the executive suites.

Barber says as a young woman, she never thought of herself as breaking glass ceilings. “I just always spoke my mind and felt very well respected,” she says.

As she advanced, she had to get used to often being the only woman in the room. There are power struggles, and it is always extremely competitive in the executive ranks of a large corporation, Barber says. But she adds that she was lucky to be in a company with leaders who provided a lot of support and encouraged diversity.

As chief operating officer, she was responsible for the manufacturing operations. “We produced the Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft platforms. I was responsible for five factories in Wichita, Kansas, Toronto and Montreal that produced about 150 aircraft a year,” Barber says. “There were 7,000 employees building aircraft within my organization. We were responsible for building, testing and delivering the aircraft to the customers.”

Growth trajectory

The company was on a growth trajectory. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It significantly affected the entire aviation industry, including Bombardier.

“We had just introduced the Global 7500 aircraft and in the first year of my role as chief operating officer, we were highly focused on getting that aircraft into stable production. But then, when March 2020 hit, it was unbelievable,” Barber says. “We reacted very quickly, suspending production for several weeks to ensure the health and safety of our employees, and allowing us to implement rigorous COVID-19 protocols in our factories. We had to reduce production in line with market demand, which was estimated to be by 30 per cent.”

Try something new

Bombardier was recognized with the 2021 Health and Safety Mercure award for its rigorous and successful health and safety measures during the pandemic. “I’m very proud of what we did,” Barber says.

Nevertheless, the cutbacks did take a toll on Barber, especially after experiencing both 9/11 and the financial crisis of 2008 in the aerospace industry. It was time for her to reflect on what would be the best next steps in her career. Earlier this year, she decided to leave Bombardier and set up Barber Complete Consultancy, which focuses on helping aerospace clients manage key strategic projects, including sustainable aviation and the advanced air mobility vehicle space.

This is a whole new area that involves using electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to move people and cargo in areas where other modes of transportation might be slow, such as in large, congested cities. “This is the future of urban air travel, so it is very exciting,” she says.

Barber is an example of how being open to new challenges and opportunities can open career doors. Her advice to young people is “find your passion and take time to travel and see the world.” She has been to 46 countries and says that seeing other parts of the world makes a person a better global citizen and helps to inform leadership decisions.

She also continues to have an impact as a mentor for young women and encourages them to pursue their dreams. “I am a firm believer in, ‘If you can see it, then you can be it,’” she says.