Starting this month, female pilots and air traffic controllers will have access to a dedicated peer assistance contact line.

The initiative is part of a strategy to provide increased support to female NZALPA members.

“It is hoped that this peer assistance line will provide female colleagues with the advice they need,” Peer Assistance Network (PAN) Coordinator Captain Herwin Bongers said.

Specific support for women on issues including childcare, pregnancy, mental health and workplace issues will be provided.

“It’s important we recognise the needs of female pilots and air traffic controllers, and how those needs can differ from those of their male peers,” Bongers said.

The PAN committee has two dedicated coordinators to launch the programme and they will be profiled in the August edition of Uplink.

“By creating better support options for women, we hope to remove any real or perceived barriers to interacting with PAN,” Bongers said.

“Offering to connect female pilots and air traffic controllers with their female peers is a great way to start conversations.”

More than half of NZALPA’s existing peer support volunteers (PSVs) are women.