LAWA ACCEPTS AWARDS FOR DIVERSITY LEADERSHIP AND TRANSPORTATION INNOVATION FROM WOMEN IN TRANSPORTATION-INTERNATIONAL’S LOS ANGELES CHAPTER

(Los Angeles, California) The Los Angeles chapter of Women In Transportation-International recognized Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) with two awards at its Annual Scholarship and Awards Dinner. LAWA officials accepted the group’s “Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership” award for its work in fostering diversity through its hiring practices, and also accepted the “Innovative Transportation Solution” award for the LAX Northside Project, which will transform land owned by LAWA just north of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) into a dynamic public development that will serve the community of Westchester and the people of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin said, “We are very lucky to have smart, thoughtful and inspiring women leading Los Angeles World Airports, and I am very excited to see this deserved recognition for LAWA’s drive for diversity and leadership in finding creative and collaborative solutions as LAX becomes both a world-class airport and first-class neighbor.”

“Meeting the goal of connecting the world’s peoples, places, and cultures starts with how we hire our people, and we believe that promoting and honoring diversity helps us meet that goal,” said Paula Adams, Director of Airports Administration. “We’re continuously working to make LAX and Van Nuys gold-standard airports, and our partnership with WTS helps us recruit the talented people who make it happen.”

“Our $14 billion capital improvement program is funding the future of LAX; a future that eases traffic congestion, improves the guest experience, and is responsive and mindful of the wellbeing of its neighboring communities,” said Samantha Bricker, Deputy Executive Director for LAWA’s Environmental Programs Group. “The LAX Northside Project will incorporate the latest best-practices in urban design and sustainability in a mixed-use development that can be enjoyed by all Angelenos.”

LAWA promotes diversity in its hiring practices though a variety of initiatives. Its Gender Equity Program ensures gender equity across LAWA’s many varied job classifications and roles, especially focusing on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) jobs, in which women have been historically underrepresented. LAWA also provides salaried internships to college students though the Gateways Internship Program, and works with the City of Los Angles’ HIRE LA’s Youth Program to introduce high school students to aviation careers.Recently, officials from LAWA and local community college districts and non-profits celebrated the first class of graduates from the HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program, whose participants – 19 percent of whom were women, with 60 of this group were African American – are ready to start construction careers building the future of LAX.Additionally, Over 50 percent of leadership roles at LAWA are held by women.

The Northside Project, also known as LAX Northside Plan Update, will transform approximately 340 acres of land owned by LAWA to the north of LAX into a modern development for the enjoyment of neighboring communities. Anticipated public benefits include a new three-mile-long landscaped pedestrian paseo on the north side of Westchester Parkway, limited building heights that preserve compatibility with adjacent neighborhoods, a variety of open spaces, and the benefits of sustainable construction, meant to comply with CalGreen Tier One standards.

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About Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

LAX is the fourth busiest airport in the world, second in the United States, and was named one of Skytrax’ 2017 Top 10 Most Improved Airports. LAX served more than 80.9 million passengers in 2016. LAX offers 737 daily nonstop flights to 100 cities in the U.S. and 1,386 weekly nonstop flights to 88 cities in 44 countries on 73 commercial air carriers. LAX ranks 14th in the world and fifth in the U.S. in air cargo tonnage processed, with more than 2.2 million tons of air cargo valued at over $101.4 billion. LAX handled 697,138 operations (landings and takeoffs) in 2016.

An economic study based on 2014 operations reported LAX generated 620,600 jobs in Southern California with labor income of $37.3 billion and economic output (business revenues) of more than $126.6 billion. This activity added $6.2 billion to local and state revenues and $8.7 billion in federal tax revenues. The study also reported that LAX’s ongoing capital-improvement program creates an additional 121,640 annual jobs with labor income of $7.6 billion and economic output of $20.3 billion, $966 million in state and local taxes, and $1.6 billion in federal tax revenues.

LAX is also the second most popular airport in the world to appear on Instagram according to wego.com. LAX is part of a system of two Southern California airports – along with Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports, a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City’s general fund.

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