“Women Hold Up Half the Sky” WAI Attracts More Women to BizAv Careers BY DR. PEGGY CHABRIAN Women in Aviation International / pchabrian@wai.org
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orkforce shortages are looming – in the cockpit, and in aircraft maintenance and avionics, manufacturing, and engineering. Several factors are contributing to the difficulty of finding and retaining flight crews, including competition from the airlines, career discouragement, the cost of training, new regulations, and continuing growth in business aviation (See “Sticky Business” BAA May/June, 2019). And hiring your next pilot or technician is not just about numbers. Today’s candidates are less willing to risk their current position to interview for yours. More experienced crew members expect more than just a salary increase – they are concerned about quality of life issues (See “Sudden Dearth” BAA July/August 2018). These factors make it critical for the business aviation industry to motivate more young people to select aviation as a career. Many retiring flight crew members entered the industry by way of the military. The government paid for their training and experience, making the transition to bizav and airline cockpits relatively simple and affordable. That pipeline, while strong, was restricted – not by law, but by tradition and bias. And, as in other conventional male vocations, women were not recruited nor encouraged to pursue a pilot or technical career. Very few did. During WWII, women in aviation were welcomed, based only on a wartime demand for able hands to address a shortage of qualified males. Fortunately, those restrictions have loosened, culturally and generationally, just in time to help address this 21st century 6 B U S I N E S S AV I AT I O N A DV I S O R
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shortage. More women recognize the growing opportunities to pursue aviation careers, at the same time more business aircraft owners recognize the wisdom of not restricting their recruiting efforts to half the population. A woman turning a wrench or a yoke no longer is an anomaly, and may well be the best qualified candidate as your next flight crew member or ground crew chief. Opportunities in the aviation industry, and specifically in business aviation, never have been more robust for the next generation of aviation professionals. But how to find them? Women in Aviation International (WAI) is a nonprofit organization “dedicated to the encouragement and advancement of women in all aviation career fields and interests.” It offers resources such as Jobs Connect and Mentor Connect to assist women of all ages to pursue their aviation dreams. Recently WAI commissioned the “Women in Aviation Workforce Report,” funded by a NASA Nebraska Space Grant. It found that women represent: ■■ Fewer than 10% of many occupations in aviation ■■ Just 5% of total airline pilots, and only 1.5% of airline captains ■■ 2.4% of aviation maintenance workers ■■ Approximately 7.8% of aerospace engineers ■■ And 16.6% of accredited airport managers. As an executive who relies on business aviation for the profitable operation of your company, you recognize that a shortage of trained and dedicated individuals to fly, fix, insure, and buy and sell your company’s aviation assets will have a negative impact on your ability to continue to travel according to your business requirements. And that will have an impact on your bottom line. These data will assist in targeting recruiting and retention efforts to meet your growing staffing needs. w w w. B i z AvA d v i s o r. c o m
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