The aviation sector was one of those hardest hit by the restrictions in place during the Covid pandemic. Research led by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) analysed the efficiency of 45 airline groups over two years, before and after the crisis: in 2019 and in 2022. The team investigated to what extent the presence of women on the boards of directors and in the executive teams of these companies affected their results.
“Our research shows that, despite the unprecedented crisis caused by the pandemic, airlines with greater gender diversity in their leadership adapted better to the challenges,” explained Professor Pere Suau-Sanchez, co-author of the study and leader of the Sustainability, Management and Transport Research Group (SUMAT) in the UOC’s Faculty of Economics and Business. “Women had a more positive influence than men in ensuring that airlines remained efficient after the pandemic,” he added.
The study, which also involved the University of Edinburgh, has been published in the Journal of Air Transport Management. To measure efficiency, it included indicators such as the number of seats occupied, operational performance and sustainability.
According to the team of researchers, if the 45 airline groups analysed were to increase the proportion of women on their boards of directors and executive teams to at least 25%, a target set by the airlines association IATA, their efficiency could improve by 1.9% in terms of capacity management (the flights and seats available) and by up to 3.2% in other variables such as sustainability. “These figures are considerable if we apply them to the industry as a whole and take into account that they’d be higher if the 50% representation target were achieved,” said Laura Lamolla, co-author of the study, associate professor and also a researcher in the SUMAT group at the UOC.
Diversity improves decision-making
The team selected a total of 45 airline groups representing different regions: 15 in America, 12 in Europe and 18 in the Asia-Pacific region. The sample consisted of a range of company sizes and business models, including full-service global airlines, such as American Airlines, and low-cost carriers. The main criterion for choosing the 45 companies was the availability of data on gender diversity in their executive teams, obtained from specialized databases.
“Although the average proportion of women in the sector globally is 18% on the board of directors and 15% in the executive team, there are also airlines that are leading the way, such as Vueling, which has an executive team with 71% women and 40% in management positions,” said Suau-Sanchez.
The study’s findings reveal that airlines with greater gender diversity on their boards and in their executive teams exhibited greater efficiency before and after the Covid crisis. “The resilience observed can be explained, in part, by the diversity of perspectives in decision-making. In airlines with more women, this facilitated more innovative and balanced approaches during a period of great uncertainty. These airlines also considered long-term effects, not just the immediate impacts,” Lamolla said.
Similar results in other industries
To add to their analysis, the team also sought the opinion of people in senior management positions, executive boards and boards of directors at airlines in different regions and with varying business models. A total of 24 people were contacted, 16 women and 8 men. None of the men responded, which has also been the case in similar studies in the aviation sector. “It’s true that other female leaders haven’t responded to us either, when they’ve done so in the past, which could indicate the effects of the ‘token’ theory, according to which many women who reach top executive positions keep a low profile on certain issues, to avoid conflict in a context dominated by men,” Suau-Sanchez suggested.
The results obtained in the research are in line with studies carried out in other industries, which have also demonstrated that gender diversity translates into better business results. The next step for the UOC team will be to better understand the specific reasons for these results within the aviation sector. “Interviews and the literature confirm that gender diversity brings a greater variety of perspectives, experiences and skills to decision-making. It allows companies to address complex problems with more innovative and balanced solutions,” Lamolla said.
Journal of Air Transport Management. DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102745