Air Canada earns two awards at Employment Equity Achievement Awards

Air Canada has been presented the Outstanding Commitment to Employment Equity award and the Sector Distinction award by The Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Federal Minister of Labour and Seniors, as part of the Employment Equity Achievement Awards announced recently.

Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer and Public Affairs at Air Canada, said: “Air Canada is proud to be a leading employer in Canada and a role model in the aviation sector for its advancement in the workplace of women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities. We are honoured to be recognized with these awards, which reflect our strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion across all sectors of our airline.”

This is the fifth year that the awards are presented, and this year marks the second time that Air Canada has been recognized.

For 2023, Air Canada received the following two honours:

• The Outstanding Commitment to Employment Equity award, recognizing Air Canada’s holistic strategy premised on the CARE approach encompassing Community outreach; Accountability; Representation; Engagement and Belonging. Air Canada’s commitment to employment equity addresses all facets where the company can support DEI across the organization, to its customers and in the communities it operates in. The award also recognizes Air Canada’s commitment to the BlackNorth Initiative CEO Pledge, its commitment to the International Air Transportation Association’s 25 by 2025 initiative, and Air Canada’s contribution to the Indspire scholarship program that supports Indigenous students enrolled in post-secondary aviation and aerospace engineering programs.
• The Sector Distinction award recognizes that Air Canada is at the forefront of elevating under-represented peoples within the airline sector through initiatives such as its All-Black Flight to celebrate Black History Month, the airline’s support of Pride events across the country, its community outreach in Indigenous communities and management training on unconscious bias and allyship, and its work to reduce gender barriers through increasing women in executive positions and promoting initiatives to foster diversity in STEM aviation careers.

The awards are based on Air Canada’s 2022 Employment Equity Report, which focused on the airline’s recovery from the pandemic and how it rebuilt its workforce with a focus on the customers’ experience, employee’s wellness and a renewed commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.