(DailyAnswer.org) – Internal footage of a 2022 video conference between Federal Aviation Administration officials that discusses plans to make the aviation industry less “white-male dominated” has been posted online by Daily Wire host Matt Walsh. The footage posted on X by Walsh in February 2024 featured Deputy Chief Operating Officer Angela McCullough arguing that the industry needs to get more uncomfortable and discuss further how the industry could look in the future. Walsh claimed that the footage demonstrated a broader problem and stated that several working in the industry had told him that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies had endangered the public by distracting them from their work.
The leaked footage is a reminder of the discussions about diversity within the aviation industry over recent years; in 2021, United Airlines said it wanted at least half of its pilots to be women and people of color, again raising concerns about an industry “dominated” by white men. In 2016, Easyjet promised that 20% of its pilots would be female by 2020.
Easyjet said that the initiative resulted in a surge in applications. Chief executive of Easyjet Carolyn McCall commented that it is hard to find any other high-profile profession in which women are so under-represented. As aviation managers face many crew members and support staff approaching retirement age, studies indicate a consumer bias against female and non-white pilots and also highlight stereotypes perpetuated in the aviation industry’s advertising. The study also found that female pilots from multiple countries experienced both discrimination and outright hostility in a field dominated by men.
Walsh commented further that according to another source who worked at Delta, a trans-identifying pilot was recently promoted by Delta despite receiving multiple poor reviews from captains. According to Walsh’s source, the pilot would not have passed probation if they had not identified as trans, and it is common practice for Delta to make exceptions for those identifying as trans. The Daily Wire host concluded that the industry needs a new mandate focusing solely on safety before lives are put at risk.
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