SkyTeam’s Women Leadership Development Program Takes Off

SkyTeam Alliance's RISE Women's Leadership Development Program, an initiative to increase female representation in aviation, kicked off its 2025 edition on 3rd March with a two-day event in Nairobi, Kenya. The event, hosted by Kenya Airways, brought together 22 of the 28 total program participants from across the alliance's global member airlines.

Sky Team Alliance launched the RISE initiative in 2022 to align member airlines with IATA's 25by2025. The initiative aims to increase female representation by 25% across all levels, including senior leadership, as well as underrepresented positions in various departments; with participants officially beginning their 9-month program during the event held in Nairobi, Kenya.

Speaking at the event, Allan Kilavuka, Kenya Airways MD & CEO said "Kenya Airways is dedicated to fostering diversity as a foundation for a stronger, more innovative aviation industry. We are committed to building a future where leadership is defined by talent, skill and vision- and not gender.

Through sponsoring RISE 2025, we are honored to play a critical role in creating opportunities for women and driving gender equality across the aviation sector; taking note that women are not only shaping the present but are defining the future of aviation.”

The third RISE cohort represents diverse functional roles in aviation across operations, finance, commercial, human resources and more, with Kenya Airways being this year’s executive sponsor. Themed ‘Career Progression Through Elevation of Leadership Skills,’ the 2025 curriculum will cover three educational blocks:

1. ‘How to be a mindful, impactful and inclusive leader’;

2. How to lead effective conversations and convey your story’; and

3. ‘How to drive structural change in your organization.’

SkyTeam’s Managing Director & CEO, Patrick Roux stated “No one can drive change alone: that’s why alliances are so important. Advancing gender equity in aviation, especially for women in leadership, requires collective effort and at SkyTeam we consider this an important responsibility. Together with our member airlines and through initiatives like RISE, we can transform the industry—one step at a time.”

“As the RISE program enters its third year, its mission remains just as relevant as ever. While progress has been made, women in aviation still face barriers to career advancement and underrepresentation continues to be a challenge. At SkyTeam, we are inspired by the level of engagement in prior years and are applying key learnings to continuously evolve the program.

Our goal is to make RISE as impactful as possible for the incredible leaders in our 2025 cohort, with an eye on program longevity and growth in the future,” added Ms. Evgenia Starkova, SkyTeam Vice President of Marketing & Sustainability and RISE 2025 Sponsor.

This year’s 28 RISE participants will progress through the program’s education blocks in the coming months, completing the curriculum in November 2025. The culmination of the program will be a practical project focused on developing a personal leadership action plan that participants can use as a catalyst for continued advancement after the program concludes.