Why Are There So Few Female Pilots? Survey by British Airways Reveals the Truth
Jackie Reddy February 19, 2015
A survey by British Airways has revealed why so few women pursue a career as a professional pilot. The airline aims to increase the number of female pilots through a new recruitment scheme.
As part of a push to attract more female pilots, British Airways has released the results of a survey which explores why so few women pursue careers as professional pilots. While 63 percent of women surveyed said they were deterred from the career when they were growing up, the breakdown of the results revealed that:
- 20 percent of respondents felt that there was a visible lack of role models for female pilots — both in real life as well as in TV and film.
- 20 percent of respondents believed that women could only be cabin crew.
- 13 percent of respondent had never been a passenger in a plane flown by a female pilot.
- 10 percent of respondents said they were told that this career path was restricted to men.
While the results of the survey provide insight into how the profession may be perceived, British Airways’ Senior First Officer Helen MacNamara touted her love of the job to BBC. “I absolutely love this job and cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone — male or female,” said MacNamara, stressing the importance of raising the profile of the career so that young women will be inspired to become pilots.
While only 200 of British Airways’ nearly 4,000 pilots are female, the carrier recently launched the Future Pilot Programme — a cadet training campaign aimed at bringing more female pilots and experienced employees into its ranks. Captain Stephen Riley, the carrier’s director of flight operations, believes that the program will help promote the career to talented pilots, regardless of their gender.
The application window for the 2015 Future Pilot Programme is open from February 23 through March 8. Passport holders between the ages of 18 and 55 are eligible to enroll.
First Officer Emily Lester says for her, the program proved to be an ideal route into a rewarding career. “The British Airways Future Pilot Programme has allowed me to realize my dream of becoming an airline pilot … I am now flying to destinations throughout Europe and would encourage anyone thinking of a career as a pilot to apply.”
[Photo: British Airways]
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'Believed', 'did not know', 'never heard' ... what was the purpose of this survey? Does BA really want to make an effort to get the uninformed or clueless to become pilots???
MileageGoblin is right. The reason why there is a high % of male pilots is because there is a high percent of male military pilots. If you want to address the discrepancy in the field start with the military...
I am not sure why the lifestyle of a pilot would be more challenging than the lifestyle of a flight attendant. Sure, balancing parenthood and work travel is a challenge,but it happens every day in my work, where people, including women, travel not just for a day or two but for weeks at a time.
This is a non-issue. If they want to learn to be pilots, then let them. If they are not discriminated against, then who cares why girls are not interested. BA just wants to show that they care and want to pander to the left.
Many, if not most, of the female airline pilots are actually mothers. And so are cabin crew - who have a similar if not more demanding lifestyle. And doctors, firefighters, shift workers and a number of other professions.