Spanner Squad Newsletter #2: Latest Updates on Championing Inclusivity in STEM
Denis Manson
Update on the Squad!
Dear Spanner Squad Advisory Board!
It has been a hectic month since I sent our first newsletter in August.
I (Denis) travelled to Singapore for the APATS Conference, where I renewed friendship with (among others) Rachel Marie Anthony from Boeing, who was one of the original supporters of the Spanner Squad idea when it was just in its infancy 12 months ago.
From left to right: 1. David Cirulli from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Singapore, 2. Stuart Membrey who was the moderator of the Maintenance stream at the APATS conference, 3. Rachel and 4. Denis.
The current workforce demographics of our industry is illustrated right there … three old guys, not far from retirement 😄. One smart, strong and dedicated young woman already kicking butt and taking over responsibility!
Fantastic also to meet others there, already part of our Advisory Board, like Larissa Fildes from JetPubs, and Michelle Crawford from Boeing. Other advocates were also there like Penny McGrigor from Halldale, the conference organisers, and Mohammed Owais from Siproavi, based in Mumbai.
The APATS conference was a great event for a number of reasons. But just two themes that stood out from the conference stream … firstly, there is now a real impetus to structure information and training specifically for Gen Z. It is not a wave that is ‘coming’, it is HERE. Secondly, the attraction, training, retention of more people into the industry, Gen Z and younger, is now also a reality, no longer something to be talked about in the future.
This type of discussion augers well for the Spanner Squad project, as we aim to contribute to addressing these issues, using interesting ways to attract the New Generation of Aviation Professionals.
Arising from our discussion in Singapore, Rachel has also offered to share her thoughts for an article being written about the Spanner Squad project by MRO, from the Aviation Week network. Standby for more update on that.
Finally, the conference organisers were generous enough to allow me to hand out some stickers I had made for the occasion. There is no shortage of merchandise on display in the trade show area of course, but most people appreciated the story behind our small marketing effort.
If anyone wants any copies of the stickers to distribute to friends etc., we have the templates set below.
Status on the Advisory Board
I am so pleased to report that, since our initial call to action, the Advisory Board stands at a total 40 people, from all around the world, including Africa and South America. The board members are all women, primarily but not exclusively from the aviation industry, and girls who have volunteered to offer their perspective on how best to pitch the message to attract young women.
Thank you so much to all of you!!
You are welcome to pass on details of the Advisory Board to your friends or industry colleagues.
I would like to reiterate again, men are not excluded from the Advisory Board, but quite obviously women’s experiences and perspectives will form the vast majority of the Spanner Squad character descriptions, dialogue and storylines. So, these are the voices we want to hear mostly. But allies will always be welcome.
Feedback on the Newsletter
We hear you sisters!
Some people have commented that the first newsletter was too long. Sorry … we have a lot to tell you. And this newsletter is probably even longer.
We aim to address this in the near future with the addition of a wiki or blog section on the www.spannersquad.com website. In this way, we can post smaller snippets, categorise them and also ask for more immediate feedback.
We had originally planned some regular online meetings, but general feedback has been that this would be too onerous for most people, at least in these early stages. Plus, as the Advisory Board has a world-wide reach, it will be waaay too hard to schedule meetings in which everyone could attend.
Another comment was “what do you want me to do??” We totally understand that all of you have OTHER STUFF TO DO, like run a business, or work, or study. Please only do as much as your time allows. If you have the time to comment on the newsletter, or contribute to the blog, or tell some stories from your experience in the industry … that will be great! If you don’t have the time, read what you can to keep up with our news, but a great value for us will be for you to be an advocate, a champion. To move towards getting some serious funding for developing the project, we will have to provide ’evidence of market interest’ or somesuch. You on the Advisory Board are already doing that!
From our initial online survey, one board member made the comment that she would specifically like to see stories for … “helping women and minorities navigate their careers when confronted with sexual harassment or discrimination”. This of course will be very important to curate properly. One aspect of the Spanner Squad is that it represents the industry of the future, where issues of harassment and discrimination have largely been conquered. But, while there is no doubt we will have an obligation to discuss these issues, it will probably be from a perspective of the older female characters discussing their past, the ‘bad old days’ perhaps. “This is what used to happen.”
As you will see soon in Newsletter #3, we will also have the character Selwyn (known as ‘Caveman’ for his physical and mental ‘qualities’).
He will represent a last vestige of sexism in the aviation maintenance workplace. A caricature or parody of some of the people you find now, perhaps. And, despite his size and strength and his macho persona, he is a pushover, really.
In the contests of brain versus brawn, the women on the squad find that brain wins every time! But sometimes, they can work well together, too.
It will be great to discuss these aspects of the projects further with you.
What’s Next?
Stay tuned for Newsletter #3 coming later today or tomorrow.
In Newsletter #3 I will provide general character description for the nine main Spanner Squad characters.
As always, any comments or suggestions can be made to denis.manson@tenhammers.com
Take care,
Denis