A joint Danish and Luxembourgish national, Ms Pedersen is currently Independent Board of Director (Committee Chair, Audit Committee Member etc) of Listed and Private companies in the Transportation and Financial sector. Ms Pedersen has more than 30 years of experience and strong existing network in the Transportation, Luxury Travel, High-End Hospitality and Leisure sectors as well as the Emergency Medical Services area. She is a Certified INSEAD International Director and owner of Pegasus Consilium S.à.r.l (A Board and Management Advisory company in Luxembourg). Ms Pedersen holds a Masters degree with honors in Business Administration from Scared Heart University and was awarded the Deans Leadership Award. Ms Pedersen is a professional helicopter pilot rated on the Airbus H145.

Throughout my professional journey, I frequently found myself in workplaces where I was the only woman. This experience emphasized the importance of empowering women. Alongside my work, I am actively involved in advocating for women’s representation. Partnering with my company, I focus not only on safety topics, but also on supporting and promoting women in the industry. I proudly serve as their advocate, striving to create a more inclusive and diverse environment for all. 

Both as an aviation and a work psychologist, I strongly believe that the rotorcraft industry can benefit significantly from increased female participation. Diverse perspectives lead to innovative solutions and improved problem-solving. By encouraging more women to join, we tap into a broader talent pool, fostering creativity and promoting a change in culture. Additionally, a diverse workforce enhances collaboration, making the industry more dynamic and responsive to evolving challenges. Embracing gender diversity not only promotes equality but also ensures a more resilient and vibrant future for the rotorcraft sector.

Since I first started working in the Rotorcraft Industry, I have noticed a great improvement regarding attitudes and opinions towards female engineers.  However, there is still some way to go to achieve equality and eliminate barriers and biases related to gender.  Unfortunately, it is typical for there to be only 1 or 2 female engineers in a large meeting.  By talking about engineering and my professional experience at schools, I have given visibility of the possibilities for women in the Rotorcraft Industry. Through European Rotorcraft Women we can further promote and inspire young women to choose careers in this sector and provide them valuable support as they develop their careers. 

During my entire work life in Tech companies, I very often found myself in the situation, where I could count women around me at one hand. Women empowerment is the need of the hour because it is high time we value and credit the women for their contribution and help them grow. Grow in a way that women don’t need to become a man in their behavior to find respect and acceptance in man dominated domains. And if we talk about equality, that goes vice versa, I don’t see men being accepted in a certain field either. We need to educate the next generation, that equality is not a one-way direction and there are huge benefits once we understand them. Any person should be seen by their talent and knowledge and not driven by gender or appearance. It is possible, I have many amazing examples around me and I would love nothing more than being one myself. 

Together, we can inspire others to join us in making a difference and ensuring women have equal opportunities to rise in the dynamic world of aviation and the rotorcraft industry. Now is the time for change, and our collective efforts can break down long-standing barriers and create a future where talent knows no gender and where women lead the way and drive rotorcraft and gerenal innovation.  I think it’s also important to show that we all started the same way and that we can support each other through this project and keeping that network ist very important in this industry. I am honored to be part of this project along with other women in aviation who have been an inspiration to me and together we can now inspire others.