Delta Airlines plans to make significant changes in embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into the fabric of its operations under the leadership of Kyra Lynn Johnson – Chief Diversity, Equity Inclusion & Social Impact at Delta.
Under Johnson’s leadership, Delta has worked to foster a more inclusive culture that has impacted several facets of the airline—from hiring, to customer-facing language and practices.
In a panel of other DEI professionals back in Feb. 2021, Johnson pointed out that Delta was moving to make its gatehouse announcements more gender-inclusive as well.
“So we’re beginning to take a hard look at things like our gatehouse announcements. You know, we welcome ‘ladies and gentlemen.’ And we’ve asked ourselves, ‘Is that as gender inclusive as we want to be? You know, we’re looking at some legacy language that exists in some of our employee manuals. And getting to the root of the way some things are described and saying, ‘Does that actually send a message of inclusivity?’”
This all began in December 2020, when Delta released an inclusive language guide containing recommendations to avoid gender-binary or other biased terms. When certain pronouns, or languages that may have roots in masculine misogyny are used.
“Use gender-neutral language and pronouns. Do not use language that suggests a gender binary (male-female),” the Delta guide said.
A Delta spokesperson said that the company encourages its employees to use inclusive language.
“Delta encourages our people to use language that is inclusive of everyone as our global customer base includes a broad range of diversity in cultural backgrounds, identity and experiences,” the spokesperson said.
This includes attention to DEI in Delta’s talent strategy, as well as ensuring representation at every tier of the organization. Johnson: “To really come out and say, as an organization, that we are an antiracist company was really important to us. We are going to actively seek diversity. We’re also talking about how we’re going to boldly pursue equity. And we’re talking about the steps we’re taking to consciously promote inclusion.”
However, while Delta has done a lot in terms of DEI initiatives most workers are “uncomfortable with the shift,” Johnson admitted. “Normalizing those conversations has probably been the hardest part,” she said.
