Lets talk about Women in Aviation!

When I was learning to fly, I did not have a female pilot role model. However, I did not feel I was missing out as I had such great male role models - In fact, it didn’t even cross my mind.

After I attained my PPL I started engaging with “aviation social media” and discovered a community of like minded female pilots. I was inspired by their stories, their progress spurred me on to be a better pilot.

At this point I thought this was a community I was perhaps missing out on when I started my training.  For all its faults, community is a really positive aspect of social media.

With the continued growth of social media, content created by women in aviation is more accessible than ever. However, female pilots still currently only make up 7% of pilots globally, and although this number has steadily increased over recent years, we are still the minority.

But why is this a big deal? Why do we need more women in aviation?

Women have played a strong role in aviation throughout history. From Blanche “Betty” Stuart Scott, who became the first American woman to fly a plane in 1910, Bessie Coleman, Amelia Earhart, Amy Johnson, Lettice Curtis, and Mrs Victor Bruce who was a noted female aviator and the first person to fly the Civil Aviation Ensign flag in London.

These courageous women were at the forefront of aviation progression.

With the future of aviation advancing towards being more sustainable, we need to access the breadth of talent to meet current—and growing— challenges with in the industry. Not just with pilots, but engineers and air traffic controllers.

In my opinion, encouraging more women into the industry will also change the undercurrent of attitude towards aviation, from something which is possibly perceived as exclusionary, to a progressive industry which young people are keen to be involved in.