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Partnership with Lockheed Martin bolsters opportunity for young women in aviation and aerospace

The world’s largest defence contractor, Lockheed Martin, has become a key partner in Australia’s leading gender diversity program Women In Aviation/Aerospace Australia. Welcoming the engagement of the world’s largest aerospace and defence manufacturer into the program, Adam Burford, said: “Lockheed Martin is not only the prime contractor in Australia’s most important defence procurement program of our generation, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, but it is also a pioneer in breaking down the barriers our industry faces in increasing female participation in the workforce.

“Being led by Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ms Marillyn Hewson, Lockheed Martin also has an impressive track record on gender and ethnic diversity - a quarter of the Corporation’s employees are women and about 20 percent of its leaders are women”. Vice President and Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin Australia said: “It’s simply impossible to harness the full power of human ingenuity when members of a certain race or gender aren’t fully represented. By encouraging an environment of inclusiveness, we believe we can build a stronger culture of innovation”.

“We recognise diversity and inclusion as a best practice and more importantly as a business imperative. In a highly competitive market, we need to make Lockheed Martin a place where everyone is welcome and able to apply their abilities and skills to solve our customers' toughest challenges”, said Mr Di Pietro. Under the partnership, Lockheed Martin Australia will provide 60 spaces for young aspiring women to attend the Women In Aviation/Aerospace summits in Queensland and Victoria this year.

Women in Aviation/Aerospace, now in its fifth year, has been responsible for bringing the industry together to address the gender imbalance in the sector.