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Blog
Celebrating International Women’s Day by embracing and fostering diversity
Brigitte Bourla
Business Process & Planning Manager, Global Business Services, Amadeus IT Group
Yesterday was International Women’s Day, a global day which celebrates the achievements of women past, present, and future. International Women’s Day honours the work of the original Suffragettes, who courageously campaigned for the right to vote. But the day is also intended to remind us all that there are still inequities that need to be addressed, hence the establishment of the Amadeus Women Network.
Established in late 2012, the Amadeus Women's Network, which is open to anyone in the company, men and women, aims mainly to improve the professional development of women in Amadeus. The network seeks to promote gender equality, create a strong professional development framework, and offer both internal and external networking opportunities. But perhaps most importantly, the network is focused on creating a better workplace for future generations of both men and women, while at the same time improving Amadeus’ performance through the benefits of diversity.
Last year we reached a number of milestones to this end, including becoming the first ‘Travel IT provider’ to be accepted by the International Aviation Women’s Association . We've organised numerous opportunities where members could connect to a broad range of stakeholders, attend tailored workshops and participate in conferences, both internally and externally.
The enthusiasm of the members is the best indicator of success of that initiative counting more than 233 members in 11 chapters around the world by the end of 2014. Still, the challenges ahead are keeping the original spirit of the network alive, organising different types of events and activities that make sense for each member, building from the diversity of the network itself, and integrating other Amadeus sites to take part in this venture.
On this blog, the Network’s Executive Sponsor, Sabine Hansen Peck , talked about why diversity matters in the technology industry, and how we can be proud of our progress in developing a multicultural company where some 37% of Amadeus’ workforce are women. The Amadeus Women’s Network is one answer to the question of how we can continue fostering such an organization, historically rooted in its multicultural advantage, and how we can work towards a future where young women are confident that their diversity is an asset on our journey to shape the future of travel.
International Women’s Day reminds us not only of why we are taking part in this mission, but also of the benefits of gender diversity, especially in an environment where sharing information is key and creativity is required.
Join us for a career that will give you an opportunity to shape the future of travel.
Editor’s note: Brigitte Bourla is the global leader and founder of the Amadeus Women’s Network.