Dear members and friends,

We wish to thank you again for your participation at the WIA-E/IAWA Networking event on 6 November 2014, in Brussels.

We are pleased to share with you an article on the event published in the European magazine “Cafebabel” titled “New horizon for young women” : http://www.cafebabel.co.uk/brussels/article/new-horizons-for-young-women.html

as well as some pictures here: https://acrossgroup.box.com/s/fkt5ve04o4ox9k4vtl6i and here https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos

In the evocative location of the Museum of Natural Science in Brussels, Women in Aerospace-Europe (WIA-E) and International Aviation Womens Association (IAWA) organized the first ”WIA-E/IAWA Networking Event” on 6 November 2014. The event brought together members and friends to discuss on the opportunities and challenges for women’s leadership in the aerospace and aviation sectors both in Europe and in USA.
Among the invited speakers: Member of the European Parliament Alessia Mosca, member of the Committee on International Trade; Catherine Lang, Director of the Federal Aviation Administration at the Embassy of the United State of America in Belgium and Veronique Dehant, Head of Section Directorate Reference Systems and Planetology at the Royal Observatory of Belgium.
MEP Mosca presented the positive effects produced by the “Golfo-Mosca” law in Italy. The law, which imposed gender quotas in the Board of Directors of Italian listed and State-owned companies, contributed not only to a much more balanced representation of women on management positionsin Italy but had an impact on the average quality of boards and overall performance of the companies.
While Catherine Lang brought in her experience as woman in a top-level position in the aviation sector in USA, Veronique Dehant emphasized the importance to inspire the new generation of women attracting them to science and space.
Lisa Piccione, IAWA President-elect and Luisella Giulicchi, WIA Director for International Relations highlighted the importance for the two associations to further collaborate to expand women’s opportunities in two interlinked sectors, like Aerospace and Aviation, in which women representation is still widely unbalanced.
The participants were finally invited to a walking dinner in the main museum hall with a fantastic view on Europe’s largest exhibition of dinosaurs.
The event was organized with the large support of the Belgian Science Policy Office, BELSPO and in collaboration with the European Business Aviation Association, EBAA and the legal firm Verhaegen Walravens.