The International Aerospace Women’s Association (IAWA) annual conference in Sao Paulo at the end of October brought together approximately 180 global participants from all areas of the industry. Held for the first time in Brazil, under the theme “Breaking Barriers, Building Legacies: Leading Aerospace into New Frontiers”, the three-day event addressed challenges ranging from talent pipelines to innovation leadership.
Brazil’s rich aviation heritage, including highlights such as Santos-Dumont’s pioneering flights and Embraer’s engineering excellence, provided strategic context. Strong South American participation reflected the universal nature of sector challenges, with delegates spanning engineering, legal, leasing, financing, aircraft manufacturers and suppliers, air traffic control, airports, regulatory affairs, academia and consulting.
Industry resilience and innovation
Among other topics, panels addressed artificial intelligence’s (AI) expanding role in production, operations and human resources. AI is reshaping operational processes while transforming traditional aerospace roles. Critical questions emerged: what are the trusted sources and processes in an ecosystem built around safety and security, and how will they evolve?
Noelle Zietsman, vice president and chief engineer at Boeing Explorations Systems discussed space operation and the timeline for “the moon as a pitstop to further destinations beyond”. How many of the event’s attendees will witness this journey one day?
Sustainability continues to be a key theme, with panels addressing energy efficiency and sustainable aviation fuel as well as the impact of climate change on operations. For example, Fraport Brazil CEO, Andrea Pal discussed Porto Alegre airport’s 167-day closure following unprecedented flooding, and shared insight into the consequential recovery, rebuilding and insurance challenges.
Leadership skills in uncertain times
Alina Nassar, IAWA Woman of Excellence 2025, used her keynote to relay a leadership philosophy centred on the distinction between empathy as an emotion and kindness as a behaviour, reminding attendees that leadership is not just about how far we go, but who we become. In an industry facing technological transformation, sustainability mandates and workforce transitions, this human dimension carries operational significance.
Leadership is not accidental, as Oyin Heath, managing director and global head of Aerospace Practice at WTW, shared in her career insights presentation themed “Turbulence, Tenacity, Triumph”. Her observation that sometimes the space we occupy is not for us, but for others to see what is possible, reframed leadership as creating pathways for those who follow. Heath’s advice to “define your brand – what people say about you when you are not in the room” – underscored that reflection and self-investment are essential in a world of complexity and change.
Lift-off to leadership in an ageing workforce
At the heart of the conference lay a sobering reality presented by Oksana Bardygula, vice president of Oliver Wyman VECTOR, and her colleague Livia Hayes. The initial findings of the 2025 Lift Off to Leadership study revealed persistent talent pipeline gaps across the aerospace sector. Building on their 2020 research, which found that 65% of women surveyed had never had a sponsor, the updated study deepened understanding of leadership experiences across genders. The research confirmed the importance of coaching, mentoring and sponsorship, yet found that sponsorship still remains underutilised by women. In addition, the study found that organisational support, such as parental leave, is essential for female and male employees. The full study will be released early 2026.
For an industry grappling with an ageing workforce, these findings carried particular weight. According to McKinsey’s 2024 Aerospace & Defense talent gap report, approximately one-third of aerospace and defence manufacturing and engineering roles are filled by workers aged 55 or older. The impending retirement wave threatens organisational knowledge transfer precisely when technological disruption demands adaptive capacity.
Conference panels reflected the urgency of attracting and retaining talent, with one moderator noting, “we need to make sure that our time with the next generation is valuable, so they want to come in, learn, and stay”. To emphasise this point, IAWA scholarship recipients – now established professionals – demonstrated that intentional mentorship programmes produce tangible results.
Role models needed to build the pipeline
At the conference, Rafaella Magna and her team took testimonials for her Aviação Com Elas (Aviation with Them) initiative to motivate Brazilian girls and women to enter aerospace. This is a great project and many more like it are needed.
There is urgency beyond the gender aspect, too, as demand for software engineers, cybersecurity specialists and AI talent outpaces supply. Recruiting the next generation of air traffic controllers is another challenge affecting the growth potential of aviation worldwide.
My takeaways
Reflecting on the three days in Sao Paulo, several imperatives became clear. Unprecedented growth in defence and civil aerospace intensifies competition for talent. This trend coincides with other sectors, particularly tech and social media, offering appealing career prospects and exponentially higher pay scales. The aerospace industry risks losing prospective leaders before they fully engage.
The sector requires role models, both male and female, and must accelerate initiatives to access the full talent pool. The conference illustrated that systemic change requires committed resources, senior leadership sponsorship and individual investment. The connection between talent diversity and workforce sustainability is empirically clear.
Strategic imperatives are equally clear: connecting senior leaders with emerging talent, promoting scholarships and delivering leadership education builds the networks and capabilities that the industry needs. As aerospace faces technological disruption, sustainability imperatives and workforce renewal, gender diversity has shifted from equity concern to competitive necessity.
What emerged was urgency tempered with pragmatism. Leadership skills and the commitment to supporting others represent essential survival strategies for an industry that must fundamentally evolve how it attracts, develops and retains talent. The question is not whether aerospace can afford to support women’s advancement and the next generation – it is whether the industry can afford not to. With talent shortages constraining growth and retirements accelerating knowledge loss, the sector must double down without delay.
