Chicago-based United Airlines has had an LGBT-inclusive workplace for many years, earning a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign's ( HRC's ) Corporate Equality Index for four consecutive years, and that extends to its internal and external initiatives including the company's various Pride Month activities this year at five of the airline's hub marketsChicago, Denver, Houston, New York City and San Francisco.
"I'm honored to join my co-workers here in Chicago and worldwide in celebration of Pride Month, and proud of all the diverse and talented employees who make United such a great place to work," said Gavin Molloy, president of United's LGBT business-resource group, EQUAL. "At United, we are committed to reflecting the diverse customers we serve, and have long supported programs and activities that promote LGBT awareness and equality. We are proud of our inclusive cultureone where every employee is accepted, valued, respected and treated fairly."
Among United's out employees are gay B757/767 Captain Marc Champion, based out of Denver, and lesbian Airbus First Officer Kathy Dulson, based out of Los Angeles. Both are members of EQUAL.
Champion has also participated in United's Denver Pride events over the years and has spoken to other employee groups about being gay in the workplace, while Dulson is a longtime member of the National Gay Pilots Association. She has also been a member of Women in Aviation for many years.
"I'm discovering that there are many more LGBT pilots out there than one might assume. I've never been one to offer much about my personal life at work, but after being pressed by others a few times, I came to realize that any fears I had about being ostracized were unfounded and over time I became more comfortable with answering person questions," said Champion. "Unfortunately, we seldom spend more than a few days with any one pilot in the cockpit and you often don't get a chance to discuss much more than the business of flying the airplane. As a manager with United, I believe that my being gay sometimes gives others a sense of trust in me they may not have had otherwise."
"I try to be myself at work," said Dulson. "I find the vast majority of pilots are comfortable talking to me about myself and my family. If not, at least I'm making others aware that there are LGBT pilots and hopefully the more of us they meet, the more comfortable they will get and every time I come out to a co-worker, I hope to gain growing acceptance for our community."
Both Champion and Dulson's fascination with and love of airplanes began at an early age. Champion noted that he traveled in and between Europe and the United States from the time he was a baby. When Champion was five or six he saw an airline pilot standing in the aisle in his uniform for the first time and at that moment he knew this would be his career. Dulson explained that she spent her summer days on the softball field watching planes fly overhead in and out of O'Hare. When she was 12, she took her first flight from Midway Airport to Akron, Ohio; from then on, she knew she wanted to spend her career in the sky.
Whereas Dulson stayed rooted in the Chicago area for most of her lifeincluding her early years in the suburb of Winfield and 10 years on Chicago's North SideChampion spent his early life on the move. He was born in New Jersey and spent most of his early years in Brussels, Belgium, before moving to Colorado when he was 12. Champion has a degree in aviation technology from Denver's Metropolitan State University while Dulson has a degree in aviation management from Southern Illinois University.
Champion began his career as a flight instructor and moved on to a small commuter airline followed by a three year period flying small corporate jets. Since the age of 23, he has worked at United in both cockpit and management positions.
"I have a unique job at the moment. I spend half the year as a line pilot on the Boeing 757/767 and alternating months as a Check Airman in our flight simulators at the United Flight Training Center in Denver," said Champion. "There, I teach and evaluate other United pilots as they come through recurrent training every year. It's a great mix of work that allows me to do the flying I love most and spend time sharing the benefit of my experience with other pilots."
Champion lives with Patrick, his partner of 27 years, in Colorado and they recently bought a townhome in Palm Springs, California.
"We enjoy tinkering with our homes," said Champion. "Most of all, we enjoy the company of our friends whether dining, hiking, skiing or traveling." Champion also spends part of his free time at a Crossfit gym.
Dulson has been working in the airline industry for 26 years, starting as a customer service and operations agent at O'Hare. While at O'Hare, Dulson started taking flying lessons and became a flight instructor at DuPage Airport. Her first airline pilot job was flying a Saab 340a small turboprop aircraftfor a regional airline out of Midway to several small cities around the Midwest. She also worked for a regional carrier as a pilot flying a Bombardier Canadian Regional Jet. Just over a year ago, Dulson was hired by United. She flies all over the United States, Canada and Mexico, and is looking forward to flying a wide body aircraft in the future so she can fly all over the world.
"Since I'm relatively new at United, I don't have as much seniority as far as choosing my schedule," said Dulson. "I have a reserve schedule which means I have 12 set days off during the month and the other days I'm on call. I usually know my schedule the day prior to when I'm on call which works out well. It can be fun not knowing what city you may be visiting within the next 24 hours. My trip assignments are usually one to four days in length and I may fly up to three flights each day."
Dulson left Chicago seven years ago for California after meeting her wife of two years, Leslie, on a cruise. They have a dog named Kia and spend their free time traveling, stand-up paddling, camping, biking, hiking and doing other outdoor activities.
"I still have family and friends in Chicago and love visiting whenever I can," said Dulson.
"The airlines of the world need a lot of new pilots in the next 20 years and airline cockpits are becoming more and more culturally diverse," said Champion. "If you want to fly airplanes for a living, being LGBT isn't a hurdle for you, especially at an airline like United. If you just simply fly United as a customer, I say thank you for enabling me to do what I love."
"The LGBT community has come a long way, but we still have a ways to go," said Dulson. "When I first started flying, I was not out at work. Now I feel comfortable being myself. As a society we have progressed. The world is changing. I feel if we are true to ourselves, others will be respectful and treat us equally as well."
See www.united.com/web/en-US/content/company/globalcitizenship/diversity-initiatives.aspx for more information.