Young women studying in a variety of fields at Concordia University are being inspired to aim high, towards leadership roles in the aviation industry. At Thursday’s conference organized by Concordia’s Engineering and Computer Science Association (ECA), women executives working in aviation shared their journey to the top of a male-dominated field. Aerospace engineering student Leah El-Ghossein was among those enthusiastically listening to their stories. “Seeing female representation is so important, especially to influence young girls,” she said. “When I was little, if I saw a woman in this industry, it got me so motivated because having representation is more important than you think, because you can see yourself doing it.” Conference organizers say the number of women working in aviation has been growing. “There are a lot more women in engineering now, women in finance, and events like this just kind of bring them all together to speak to each other and see where they can network and connect an find jobs,” said Mane Goudsouzian, the Executive Director of ECA Concordia. The event featured speakers holding high-level positions with companies such as CAE, Bombardier, and Pratt and Whitney, in areas including finance, sales and aviation. CAE’s VP of Finance and Tax, Josephine Scalia, wants students to see the diversity of leadership roles in the aviation industry, “to focus on what’s possible and maybe get inspired by the leaders that they see today.” Scalia believes a lot is changing in her industry in ways she hopes young women will embrace. “Technology is constantly changing and innovation and also now with AI I think that’s really fascinating,” she said. “To embrace that, I think is really important.” For some students, the conference has helped them to consider setting their sights on leadership roles, well before their careers have even begun. “I’d like to pursue something like that, leadership in aerospace,” said first-year aerospace engineering student Precious McCarthy. “I think that would be an honour. It’s a goal for a lot of people, I think, so we’ll see how it goes.”
