Women in Aviation

Featuring: Damineh Akhavan

Senior Engineer/Transport Canada Designated Engineer at De Havilland

On October 20, 2022, Damineh Akhavan won the Elsie award in Engineering by the Northern Lights Aero Foundation, an award which honours women in aerospace throughout Canada. The Elsie award’s purpose is to celebrate the achievements of women and to motivate and inspire other women to pursue opportunities in these industries.

De Havilland Canada is proud to feature Damineh as a woman in aviation. Damineh has made significant contributions to the aviation field and made great impact as a role model in the aerospace industry. This year alone, she was honoured with 12 awards for her outstanding achievement in engineering, science and technology, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and her dedication to her community and public service.

Damineh sat down and spoke to us about her career, her aspirations, and her space as a woman in aviation.

When did you know you were destined for a career in aerospace/aviation?

When I was a child living in Iran, my dad and I would go up to our roof and stargaze for hours while he read me stories about space. That’s where it all began. Since I was 3, I dreamed that I would become an astronomer to discover a habitable planet, an engineer to build a spacecraft, and an astronaut to fly all the underprivileged people on Earth to the planet I had discovered on the spacecraft I had built.

At 25, I started working at Viking Aircraft Canada. The role was supposed to be temporary, because the goal was always aerospace - but a sudden eye surgery deemed me unfit for space flight. After my surgery, I had to reevaluate my life choices - I had poured my entire education and free time into carving a path towards space. After much reflection, I came to the realization that the driving force behind her goal

Can you share what this award means to you?

At some point in my career, a former boss told me that everything I had accomplished was a privilege handed to me. Walking onto the stage to receive the Elsie award, I understood that was false. They had read through multiple applications and they recognized me, I stood out to them. I had earned that award. Of all the awards I have received, this Elsie meant a lot to me because it recognizes excellence in engineering and aerospace, whereas others have only focused on one aspect. It’s special, really special.

What is your favourite part about working here at De Havilland?

I don’t get to do it as much in my current role, but I used to love traveling to our customers. I love meeting people from different places, working with our customers and getting right into the technical stuff on the airplane, getting in there and getting dirty. Of all the places I’ve been able to visit, Okinawa, Japan, was my favourite - the project I worked on was interesting, and the place was beautiful. At De Havilland, you get to feel a part of this larger aviation family that spans across the world, and it’s amazing. And when you don't get to

What’s your advice for women in the aerospace/aviation industry?

Find yourself an ally. Aerospace is still, unfortunately, a very male-dominated industry. A male ally can steer you in the right direction when you face hurdles and can vouch for you - they support you behind your back. Secondly, find yourself a mentor or a sponsor. They can similarly help you find your voice because in my personal experience as a young woman, it’s helpful to have someone be your ear. A sponsor, for example, will speak for you when there’s an opportunity and you’re absent. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be recognized for these awards if someone hadn’t decided I was the right person, put my name forward as a nominee, and vouched for me.

Other than your passion for the aerospace industry, what else are you passionate about?

I’m involved in many causes outside of work. When I was in school, alongside my packed schedule, I was involved in the community as much as I could be. I volunteered at soup kitchens, did a lot of work with the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and helped start Engineers Without Borders at University of Victoria. Through my current involvement with the Canada Beijing Network, we are bringing the United Nations' sustainable development goals into Canada and determining how to apply them to our society. In summary, I was and am very passionate about community and public service, and a lot of that has focused on human rights work to advocate for gender equality, especially for women in the aviation and aerospace industry, as well as making advancements in innovation and technology and climate and economic justice.

You’re the founder and CEO of Global Women in Stem Inc, which encourages the advancement of women in STEM through education, advocacy and action - What keeps you motivated?

I spent the first 8 years of my life in war, and I always wondered even as a child why the world is the way it is. If every single person tries to make it better for another person, why are we in this mess? If we can all do our part, then the world would be better and we wouldn’t be struggling so much. A lot of the work that I’m doing, a lot of the causes I’m a part of, I won’t be able to see the benefits in my lifetime. But I have a child now, and even before I had him, I’ve always been motivated by the idea that the next person shouldn't have to go through what I went through.

You received the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant award this year, the only national award celebrating immigrants. Could you talk a little bit about what that meant to you?

When you immigrate from another country - in my case, a war-torn country - you carry a lot of traumatic experiences, a ton of baggage. The years here were tough, and I struggled. People would hear the language I speak and call me a terrorist, they would tell me to go back to my country, perpetuate all these stereotypes because I’m Iranian. If I brought up issues in this community, it was always, well go back home then. But that’s the thing - this is my home. There’s a lot of confusion about that, because sometimes I realize I don’t really belong here, even after 25 years. It’s home and it’s not.

This award was very interesting because at first I wasn’t sure I wanted to be nominated, but someone else put my name forward. Even after everything, you look back, and realize you survived the trauma, confusion and helplessness. There are others like me going through the same difficult times I did. I hope that they can see me and think she’s done it, and that means I can too. You don’t really move on, and I don't think anyone ever truly figures it out - I haven't either. You move forward instead, and you keep going, and you keep trying. For other immigrants, I hope my receiving this award is inspirational, and for non-immigrants I hope they can learn that we’re working really hard, and this is our home too.

You said engineering a spacecraft to take the underprivileged people of Earth to an undiscovered planet was your goal. Would you say that with all the advancement you have helped make for women in science, technology and aviation, that that goal has been reached?

What I’ve learned is that it doesn't have to be another planet. We can make this life on this planet better. We’ve made so much scientific progress, but is it being used in the right form? Are all the technological advances worth it, the exploration we’ve been able to do of Mars and all our planets beyond, if right here on this Earth people are still dying and killing each other? My love for space will never fade, but we have to make sure that we are making living on Earth possible for everyone. That’s a goal I’ve chased all my life, and one that I hope the people on this planet can come together to help achieve.

Learn more about Damineh!

Follow the link to view the achievements Damineh has made over the past year, or watch a video below to get to know her better!*

*Omitted to protect the privacy of the company.