US seeks to rename UN aviation program over term 'gender'

The United States wants to rename and defund a UN aviation agency's "gender" program that promotes participation by women in aviation, as President Donald Trump's administration takes on diversity policies ahead of a fall gathering of high-level aerospace regulators.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) should rename its Gender Equality Programme as the Empowerment Program for Women, "in order to remove the ideological term of 'gender,'", the U.S. wrote in a working paper ahead of the U.N. agency's triennial assembly which starts on September 23. It also asked the agency's secretariat to confirm that "no regular budgetary contributions" would be used for the program under the current name.

ICAO's Gender Equality Programme seeks to advance equality in the sector, where the vast majority of pilots and aerospace mechanics, for example, are male. "The United States recognizes anticipated future personnel shortages in the global aviation industry, including the future need for highly trained professionals," according to the paper dated July 30.

"However, we do not support programs that grant preferences based on sex or other characteristics other than individual merit." The Republican president has made a hallmark of his administration the sweeping away of any policy aimed at supporting diversity, with aviation now included in those efforts.

The paper comes as Trump is nominating former Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) pilot Jeffrey Anderson to serve as U.S. ambassador to the Montreal-based agency, in a move opposed by a major airline pilots' union. Earlier this year, Trump issued an executive memorandum directing his administration to assess and undo diversity initiatives in aviation safety roles.

Under Trump, the Federal Aviation Administration also reinstated the "Notice to Airmen" term, reversing an earlier decision by former President Joe Biden who had renamed the acronym NOTAM to be more "inclusive of all aviators". The Trump administration is asking to rename the ICAO program "in order to focus on the needs and perspectives of women," the paper said.

The Federal Aviation Administration directed requests for comment to the U.S. Department of State, which did not immediately respond. ICAO declined comment. The agency, which seeks to use consensus to set standards on everything from runways to seat belts, was created after the United States invited more than 50 allies to agree in 1944 to a common air navigation system. (Allison Lampert in Montreal; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by David Holmes)

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