“You can fly too”

Amy Johnson, Amelia Earhart and Australia’s own Lores Bonney are just a few names that come to mind. In wartime they served with western air forces as ferry pilots of all aircraft types including fighters, while the Soviet air force had women flying frontline missions with some reaching ‘ace’ status. Within commercial aviation in Australia it took another few decades before women began to break into the airline environment to any degree, but the first airline captains did finally emerge. In spite of this heritage, the proportion has always been heavily stacked towards males.

Today, female airline pilots are not as uncommon as they once were.

Women hold positions of authority within the industry from flying operations inspectors and aerobatic champions to chief pilots and chief flying instructors. The military also has numerous women in vital roles and the Air Force is now set to have its first female fighter pilots. They are living proof of the capability of women to fill these roles and succeed despite the apparent odds. And even though there are a number of shining examples to be cited, women are not flocking to the industry.

At the most basic level, it would seem that the traditional gender bias still exists. It is not through any degree of malice and exists on both sides of the gender fence, but parents and educators alike don’t necessarily connect the dots between girl and pilot. One only has to watch the reaction of the general public in the terminal when a female airline pilot walks through in uniform – for some it still borders on a sighting at Loch Ness. It is exciting and flattering, but it is still a reaction of near-surprise in many quarters. It is in these early years that the seeds of ambition are often sown and yet those that guide the nation’s daughters aren’t necessarily enlightened in the ways of aviation.

While women are not overly represented in commercial aviation, they seem to be even more scarce on the recreational side of flying. Aero clubs and associations have some outstanding female participants, but their numbers are far from strong. The demographic of middle-aged men tends to populate airfields and clubhouses more than any other.

Having spoken with a good many female pilots and non-pilots, the reasons given for the lower level of involvement is varied. For many, aviation doesn’t interest them while a good many have never given it a thought. As a pastime, those who were interested but with families cited the age-old issue of children consuming time and many raised the non-gender specific issue of cost.

For those flying commercially, the opinions on forging a career in a maledominated environment were divided. Some had experiences of harassment and bullying, while others had no complaints whatsoever other than their voice being immediately recognisable on the radio and their anonymity lost. The vast majority enjoyed their choice of career and rated a high level of job satisfaction and preferred to be thought of as simply a ‘pilot’ rather than a ‘female pilot’. On another front, some raised relationships as being potentially difficult. Overnights and odd hours can play havoc with any regular form of social life and some men find it difficult having a partner in such a socially esteemed profession if they feel their own efforts did not rise to that level.

In later life when children enter the picture, a whole new dynamic is introduced. While airlines have facilities to cater for maternity and carer’s leave, there is anecdotal evidence of some aviation employers being hesitant to invest in the employment and training of female pilots for fear of them “getting pregnant and leaving”. The truth would seem different as women who have invested so much time and effort into their career generally manage to sustain the work-family balance in an admirable fashion that few men could ever come close to.

Whether it is entering the industry, maintaining relationships, walking through the terminal or raising a family, a core issue seems to be perception.

Girls don’t fly for a living, female pilots are the exception not the rule and they just want to have babies. Ill-founded, highly discriminatory and ridiculously inaccurate, these mindsets still exist and in a milder form and lurk beneath the surface of broader attitudes within society – attitudes that also preclude men from certain fields of endeavour and undermine diversity.

The key lies in better education of parents, teachers, children and the community at large. Organisations are endeavouring to do so through many avenues such as the fly-it-forward movement that seeks to introduce women to aviation. Perhaps the airlines need to send their pilots into the classrooms and spread the word. As a choice of vocation it needs to be on the school career counsellor’s radar, not an option that is met with a vague look and a shuffling through paperwork. The numbers of both boys and girls looking to enter the industry are not what they once were, so word of this wonderful career and pastime cannot be relied upon to filter down and randomly inspire; it needs to be presented as a prime option.

Women have come a long way in aviation over the past few decades, but there is still so far to go. They are not a novelty of society but consummate professionals in a demanding field who can serve as far better role models than the selfie-obsessed characters that fill social media and reality TV.

The women who have taken the leap and fulfilled their dreams in aviation should be admired, and rather than gawking as they walk to their aircraft they should simply be highlighted to our daughters with the words, “You can fly too. ”