AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - April 2019 - 86

Defining the problem is easy. Figuring out why aviation continues to be this way and what must be done to change it is hard.
STUBBORN PROBLEM

BETTER TOGETHER
Many groups have formed to support female pilots
Dozens of organizations, both formal and informal, have
formed to bring female pilots together to provide support,
mentorship, and scholarships.
Women in Aviation International. Probably the largest and best-known of the groups, Women in Aviation
International provides scholarships, organizes Girls in
Aviation Day, convenes a yearly conference, and has more
than a hundred local chapters for support, camaraderie,
and networking. Almost 50 are on college campuses.
www.wai.org
The Ninety-Nines. The biggest women pioneers in aviation started The Ninety-Nines in 1929, and the group
remains very active today. Also known as the International
Organization of Women Pilots, the Ninety-Nines have
more than 150 chapters all over the world for support, networking, and service.
www.ninety-nines.org
The Whirly Girls International. Founded in 1955 to support women helicopter pilots, today Whirly Girls has more
than 2,000 members around the world. The organization
gives out hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships
and supports active helicopter pilots through networking
and mentorship.
www.whirlygirls.org
Sisters of the Skies. An organization of minority women,
Sisters of the Skies promotes aviation participation
through community activities, social media support, scholarships, and more. Check the group's website for ways
to help support the next generation of minority female
aviators.
www.sistersoftheskies.org
Ladies Love Taildraggers. One of the many social
groups organized to support female pilots, Ladies Love
Taildraggers is as founder Judy Birchler describes it, "A
loosely bound group of dynamic women pilots drawn
together by one shared love" (see "Pilots: Judy Birchler,"
p. 128).
www.ladieslovetaildraggers.com
F.A.S.T. The name says it all: Female Aviators Sticking
Together is a community of women pilots with the simple goal of inspiring and unifying female pilots. The group
holds one-day summits and provides scholarships, networking opportunities, and career advice.
www.femaleaviators.org

86 | AOPA PILOT April 2019

Ask any female pilot about the slights or harassment they've faced,
and each one has a story. Sometimes it's as harmless as being mistaken for a customer service representative or flight attendant. In
other cases it's aggressive or even criminal. Then there's the inherent sexism. GA News published a positive story earlier this year
about a young single mom who was enrolled at an aviation university and planned to become a professional pilot. The online
comments centered on how her ex-husband must be footing the bill.
Despite the headwinds, the women interviewed for this
story brought up harassment only when questioned. Most said
it wasn't a deterrent, but rather something to work through or
simply ignore.
A lack of mentoring and positive role models came forward
as a significantly bigger challenge. It's easy for men to imagine
themselves in the cockpit as they see male pilots in movies, at the
airport, and on an airliner, but for women those sightings aren't
frequent. "Many men falsely assume women don't want to do
it. They mentor boys instead," said airline pilot and CFI Sarina
Houston. "Personally, I wouldn't have gotten into flying had someone not stepped out and given me a free airplane ride."

"MANY MEN FALSELY
ASSUME WOMEN DON'T
WANT TO [FLY]. THEY
MENTOR BOYS INSTEAD."

An AOPA staff member recounted how she has seen many
times at EAA Young Eagles rallies where parents will push the
boy to ride first, or make sure the boy sits up front and the girl sits
in back. The impression is that the boy is there to learn while the
girl is there to take an airplane ride and enjoy the view.
"Society dictates that story," Mullin said. "They've created the
story that either women don't fly, can't fly, don't want to fly, do
want kids and can't fly, et cetera. The story is permutated by society for however many decades that airplanes have been around.
It's only until we get people outside the circle that people will
change mindsets and think flying as a woman is an option."
Even for dads who are engaged in aviation and think they
are projecting positive aviation role models to all their children,

http://www.wai.org http://www.ninety-nines.org http://www.whirlygirls.org http://www.sistersoftheskies.org http://www.ladieslovetaildraggers.com http://www.femaleaviators.org

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - April 2019

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