Financial Tribune- Iran�s flag carrier airline, Iran Air, has kicked off a drive to attract more female pilots.

The company released a new recruitment advertisement for a new generation of pilots earlier this month. The most notable difference between this year�s recruitment and the ones in the previous years is the proclamation of the company�s policy to hire women pilots, Iran Air CEO Farzaneh Sharafbafi was quoted as saying by the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development news portal on Friday.

Noting that close to 4,000 women are working in Iran�s aviation industry, the Iran Air chief said, �A total of 1,780 women are employed by the flag carrier of the Islamic Republic of Iran, of whom 16% hold managerial positions.�

Last July, Sharafbafi became the first woman in the history of the Islamic Republic to take charge of Iran Air, otherwise known as Homa.