DEI And The Friendly Skies: Icema Gibbs Of JetBlue Talks Future Of Black Aviation | Essence

JetBlue implemented a lot of things before they were en vogue.

Founded in 1999, they were the first airline to outfit its planes with genuine leather seats. Among the trendsetters that handed out free snacks to passengers. They were even among the originators to install TV screens in the seat backs. But beyond the splashy details that provided customers with creature comforts, JetBlue trail-blazed in other areas that deeply impacted lives for generations. Led by founding member Icema Gibbs, JetBlue was the first airline to launch its own foundation to inspire the next generation of dreamers and soarers.

“It was something incredibly important to me back then, and it hasn’t changed at all. If anything, it has become even more critical now more than ever,” Gibbs told ESSENCE.

Since joining the company nearly 25 years ago, Gibbs has held various roles, but presently she sits as JetBlue’s VP of Corporate Social Responsibility & Diversity, Equity and Inclusion where she says one of the key aspects of her job is overseeing and reinforcing the foundation’s mission: introducing the wonderful opportunities in aviation and STEM to underserved communities.

“Other airlines have foundations, but they don’t necessarily help the growth of the industry,” she pointed out. “We want to introduce this industry to so many different people to let them know how wonderful it is. That’s where our foundation sits squarely in, serving and making sure people understand how great aviation is as an industry and all the fields in aviation.”

One of the foundation’s flagship programs is Fly Like a Girl, an annual initiative that offers girls access to different careers in the aviation industry and the opportunity to learn directly from women crew members who are the lifeblood of the airline.

Gibbs says another focus is creating and expanding programs that remove barriers for those interested in pursuing a viable career in aviation, but simply don’t have the means to do so.

“Often, those who want to be in this field but aren’t are stopped in their tracks due to financial reasons,” Gibbs states. “It hasn’t been knowledge. It hasn’t been education. It’s really often been financial aptitude.”

To narrow this opportunity gap, the company launched Gateways in 2008, a career development program that equips aspiring aviation professionals with the tools needed to enter into the workforce as pilots and/or aircraft maintenance technicians. To date it has has helped hundreds grow their careers at JetBlue.

This is notable since the aviation industry is still largely homogenous.

2020 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data revealed nearly 94% of the country’s 155,000 aircraft pilots and flight engineers are white and just 3.4% identify as Black.

Gibbs says this disparity is something she’s actively working to address head on, even at a time when corporate DEI seems to be under attack.

“Fortunately for me, I haven’t yet had to be alarmingly concerned about what’s happening in the DEI space because our senior leaders still support the work that we’re doing and have always done,” Gibbs shared. “I feel very grateful for that because I know after the death of George Floyd, everybody had a chief diversity officer in title, often without a staff and without a budget. When we decided to reimagine diversity here at JetBlue, we already had a diversity department. It came with staff and budget. So, I already felt ahead of the game, I have to say know, but we’re cautious. We have to be cautious. Companies are under attack. Starbucks was just sued. They won the lawsuit. But companies are no longer prioritizing diversity for a lot of different reasons. I feel very grateful that here we’re still looking at diversity as part of the fabric of what makes this company great and I feel confident in saying that will never change.”

This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.