IndiGo aims to increase women pilots in workforce to over 1,000 in 1 year

IndiGo aims to increase the number of women pilots in its workforce to over 1,000 in the next year as the country's largest airline steers ahead with efforts to boost diversity and inclusivity.

The airline, which is expanding its fleet and network, currently, has over 800 women pilots.

Sukhjit S Pasricha, Group Chief Human Resources Officer at IndiGo, said the airline is driving inclusiveness in a big way by working in every area, including among engineering and flying staff.

"In every work area, we are driving diversity and inclusivity. We have a 360-degree approach to it... we have grown by about 30 per cent in terms of women in engineering overall," he told PTI.

According to him, the airline has the highest number of women pilots, which is now at over 800.

The airline has around 14 per cent women pilots compared to the global average of 7-9 per cent women pilots in the workforce.

"We will cross the number of 1,000 women pilots in one year (by August 2025)," he said.

The airline, which operates over 2,000 flights daily, has more than 5,000 pilots at present.

On Wednesday, IndiGo inducted 77 women pilots for its Airbus and ATR planes to celebrate 77 years of the country's independence.

As of March 31, 2024, the airline had 36,860 permanent employees, including 5,038 pilots and 9,363 cabin crew. The count included 713 women pilots.

It also has employees from the LGBTQ segment.

Within the airline, the overall female representation stood at 44 per cent and female leadership at 18 per cent as of March 31 this year, as per its 2023-24 annual report.

As part of IATA's '25 by 2025' initiative, the carrier is targeting to have 25 per cent female leadership and 50 per cent female representation in our overall workforce in IndiGo.

Pasricha said the number of people with disabilities in the workforce has doubled in the last year.

In the annual report, the airline also said its team comprises around 200 employees with disabilities, including those with locomotor, visual, hearing, and/or speech impairments. "This is an increase from 11 employees in FY 2022 and 86 in FY 2023," it added.