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Australia’s first woman airline pilot has suggested that educating girls about career pathways in aviation could shrink the gender divide in the sector.
Virgin Australia captain Deborah Lawrie earned her position in the cockpit by taking legal action in 1979 against Ansett, which had refused to employ female pilots.
Now, four and a half decades later and ahead of her participation in the first-ever Australian Aviation Summit next month, Lawrie said the landscape has revolutionised, with women now actively encouraged to participate in aviation in myriad ways.
“I think the big difference back in those days was there was no such thing as cockpit resource management, and some captains believed they were God-like,” Lawrie told Australian Aviation.
“Therefore, no one could tell them what to do or even challenge them in any way. Sometimes, there was quite a bit of bullying from a couple who were that way inclined, and there was no mechanism by which you could speak up.”
However, several aircraft accidents – including the Tenerife Airport disaster in 1977, where KLM and Pan Am Boeing 747s collided on the runway at Tenerife due to poor visibility and miscommunication and killed 583 people on both aircraft – significantly altered the culture, Lawrie said.
“Things have changed a lot since then due to various accidents because of this very situation over the years. That’s made it a lot easier for women on the flight deck (especially when they’re not in the role of the captain). They’re now expected to speak up and make a valuable contribution to the crew.”
When asked why women continue to be underrepresented in aviation despite significant strides made, Lawrie said it is because “they just don’t do it”.
During her panel session at the Australian Aviation Summit 2024, she will elaborate on how to reduce the diversity divide and why she is against implementing gender quotas.
Lawrie disputed that there is a wide median gender pay gap (particularly among pilots) and asserted that while the pay is equivalent, the gap is in participation between men and women.
Virgin and Qantas recently echoed these sentiments, arguing that a global lack of women becoming pilots or engineers is contributing to the airlines’ poor performance in gender pay data released by the federal government.
To remedy this, she suggested educating high school students about the job opportunities and career pathways available in aviation.
“There’s just not enough education when they’re younger that these positions are available to them,” Lawrie said.
“We need to make it obvious to them that it is a career choice. They also need to see women visibly in uniform.”
Lawrie recalled that over the years, she has visited aviation schools in cities like Brisbane on International Women’s Day and spoken to women about career pathways and how they could seek help from others who have entered the industry before them.
Another factor to consider is that becoming a pilot or pursuing other careers in aviation “is not an easy job” and requires sacrifice and dedication, Lawrie said.
“Sometimes, that may not fit in with what women want to do with the rest of their lives. The ones that go into it have to be passionate and dedicated.”
Lawrie advised women who pursue an aviation career to be cautious about the flight schools they choose to accumulate their flying hours.
While larger organisations are legally bound to treat women equally and provide opportunities for them to rise to higher positions, Lawrie flagged that some smaller operators and charter companies have retained the “old-fashioned way of thinking.”
“Some of the smaller operators around the country still have those inherent barriers, which is disappointing. If women want to work with them, they may not be treated as well as they should be because there’s no one pulling them into order or monitoring their activities,” Lawrie said.
“I think we need better oversight by the regulator of their behaviour towards not just women but pilots in general.”
Lawrie concluded by urging women to find mentors to guide them through their choices at the early stages of their careers, including determining which flight school they should attend.
To hear more from Captain Deborah Lawrie about how the aviation sector could bridge the gender gap, come along to the inaugural Australian Aviation Summit 2024.
It will be held on Thursday, 29 August 2024, at The Star, Sydney.
Click here to buy tickets, and don’t miss out!
For more information, including agenda and speakers, click here.
