Karina Perez Molina, co-founder of the Zed Factor Fellowship, which encourages students from underrepresented backgrounds in aerospace careers, appeared on the main stage at SATELLITE 2021. “I’m really excited to be here because I didn’t feel as represented in our industry as I would have liked to. Usually when attending these types of conferences, I see myself when I see the service staff, but never really around the conference, or on the actual stage. For me, it’s very important to open those doors and see more people like our fellows eventually sitting on stage.”
Debra Facktor, head of U.S. Space Systems for Airbus Defence and Space, put the situation bluntly — diversity is good for business. “Research shows that diverse teams, diverse companies, those who have women and minority representation on their board, C-suite and through the leadership teams perform better. It’s just a fact — their stock price is higher and their returns are better.” A 2020 survey by Aviation Week found that women in aerospace and defense are around 24 percent of the workforce, with only about 6 percent identifying as Black.
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Josephine Millward of Seraphim Capital said the investor community is very male-dominated: “People tend to back people who look and sound like them. We all have biases that we’re not really aware of.”
Giselle Stewart of Boeing said the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 was a watershed moment. Boeing released its first-ever Global Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Report, with goals including increasing Black representation by 20 percent. She shared a practical habit called “seek, speak, and listen” — encouraging employees to seek out different opinions, encourage others to speak, and truly listen.
Facktor shared her own experience being overlooked in meetings and called for standing up for others: “When you sit at the table, you have a voice. Include others.” All panelists agreed that companies that don’t take diversity into account will lose out on employee talent, investments, and supply chain security. Stewart tied it to the “Great Resignation”: “If your company doesn’t express that commitment or reflect that in its representation, it’s going to be hard to be the innovative, disruptive company that we all want to be.” VS
