To commemorate International Women’s Day 2025, we’re shining a spotlight on some of the incredible women that make up the wider UCL School of Management community. In this blog, BSc Information Management for Business student Ines Aissi takes us through her experiences studying at the School and her desire to become an Aviation Consultant once she graduates. Pointing to research that indicates that less than 10% of senior consulting positions are occupied by women, Ines hopes to forge a career that alleviates these statistics.
She also discusses her reasons for applying to the IMB programme, her excitement at the programme’s strong female faculty presence with Dr Maya Cara as Programme Director and Edyta Kostanek as Deputy Programme Director, and why she hopes to see more women reaching senior leadership positions across all industries.
can you tell us about yourself?
My name is Ines Aissi and I’m currently a penultimate year student taking Information Management for Business. I’m French Algerian and grew up in London! I studied in Sutton and applied for UCL during my time in Sixth Form where I took Economics, Business and French A-Level.
I always knew I’d want to work in business, but I wasn’t exactly sure where. That was, until I saw the IMB Video Series by Richard Rácz. I realised that IMB wasn’t a typical Business Management degree, and that you would also gain excellent technical knowledge. Hence, I applied through UCAS and received an offer in April!
what are your favourite parts of studyin at ucl school of management?
Frankly, there are so many things I enjoy about studying with the UCL School of Management! If I had to shortlist three however, I would say: the community, the extracurricular opportunities and the networking.
Community is at the heart of the UCL School of Management- from the moment I stepped into induction I immediately felt welcome. The extracurricular opportunities can suit every taste possible: I personally love the Winter Ball and competitions as it allows me to meet with friends and make new ones too! Speaking of that, I feel that the networking at UCL is unlike anywhere else. Our teaching staff have industry experience, meaning that their expertise can be especially valuable when introducing new concepts.
can you tell us about the gender split on your programme and faculty?
The IMB programme has a fairly equal gender split in regards to students. However, this may not reflect the the faculty we are situated in. There is a long way to go, but we do have some women in senior leadership. For instance, we have Maya Cara and Edyta Kostanek as Programme and Assistant Programme Director. That being said, I believe there could be some improvement in the gender split of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences, with an overwhelming male majority.
which industry are you looking to go into once you graduate?
Currently, my interests are an intersect of consulting, digital strategy and aviation. I hope somewhere down the line I could be an aviation consultant! Nevertheless, when I graduate I seek to have general consulting experience for a few years or so.
According to research, around 44.6% of consultants identify themselves as female. However, as we progress along the chain of command, only around 21% of partners at consulting firms are women. The Openside Group found that only about 9% of senior consulting leaders globally are female.
Aviation on the other hand is even more of a male-dominated industry. British Airways reported that around half of their colleagues and junior management positions are occupied by women. That being said, there is a strong imbalance in the number of women in aviation’s more technical roles, with around 6% of pilots being women. Additionally, per the International Aviation Transport Association (IATA), only around 3% of C-level roles in the aviation industry belong to women.
as someone not yet on the job market, what do you think are the biggest issues facing women in the workplace?
While there has been tremendous progress for female representation in the workplace across recent years, there is still improvement to be made. McKinsey found that women remain underrepresented at every stage of the corporate pipeline, regardless of race and ethnicity- with an estimate of around 50 years to achieve gendery parity for all women.