On 18 November, the Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Bangkok, Thailand had something different to it: it was completely operated by a female crew, from ground operations all the way to the sky.
Captain Amsale Gualu was assisted by a female co-pilot, Selam Tesfaye, and by an all-female cabin crew and female ground staff. This was a first in the history of the airline—and likely in that of African aviation.![Ethiopian Airlines](https://images.sbs.com.au/drupal/nitv/public/12240207_919941128090598_4539317195114597306_o.jpg?imwidth=1280)
![Ethiopian Airlines](https://images.sbs.com.au/drupal/nitv/public/12240207_919941128090598_4539317195114597306_o.jpg?imwidth=1280)
Source: Ethiopian Airlines
“Here in the continent of Africa, we are lagging behind in women empowerment,” Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam .
He also noted that “women are the continent greatest untapped resource,” and that the decision to have a fully female-operated flight was primarily “an opportunity to inspire young African female students to believe in their dreams”, with an eye to the skill gap.![Air India](https://images.sbs.com.au/drupal/nitv/public/india-section-2012-international-womens-day.jpg?imwidth=1280)
![Air Ethiopia was composed of an all female crew](https://images.sbs.com.au/drupal/nitv/public/rts80d21.jpg?imwidth=1280)
Source: Reuters
![Air India](https://images.sbs.com.au/drupal/nitv/public/india-section-2012-international-womens-day.jpg?imwidth=1280)
Source: Air India
Ethiopian Airlines says 31 percent of his personnel is female—though women are mostly employed as cabin crews, and technical positions .
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![Quartz](https://images.sbs.com.au/drupal/nitv/public/quartz1_1_0.jpg?imwidth=1280)
Source: Quartz