Researchers with the University of West England (UWE) in Bristol and the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) have found that efforts over the years to address the lack of gender diversity among pilots and pilot trainers have largely fallen short and that sexism and sexual harassment—particularly during initial pilot training—demand “urgent action.”
A report published on Monday by the RAeS, which considered survey responses from 700 airline pilots around the world, 750 personal testimonials, and eight focus groups, found that while women account for 5.26 percent of the global pilot workforce, the disparity proved even more pronounced among pilot trainers. For example, women account for just 0.9 percent of type rating examiners (TREs) in the UK.
Along with frequent complaints of an “old boys network” including some among male respondents, the study found “structural barriers” such as a lack of transparency around recruitment and selection. Meanwhile, it found that “the vast majority” of airlines and training organizations refuse to allow pilot trainers to work part-time, leading to what the researchers characterized as a disproportionate effect on women.
Forty-two percent of women in the survey reported being “treated differently” than their male counterparts at work and 30 percent believed they were the victims of gender discrimination.
“Training is the first point of contact for the next generation of pilots, and if we want to attract the best talent we need to ensure we appeal to everyone with the right abilities irrespective of gender, ethnicity, or age,” said Marnie Munns, an airline pilot and one of the report’s authors. “A much more diverse training department will ensure that there are visible role models and a more inclusive training environment for all.”
Professor Susan Durbin from UWE Bristol concurred that the industry remains “a long way” from achieving gender equality.
“For example, not offering the pilot trainer role on a part-time basis is detrimental to women as it holds them back from progressing their careers and excludes them from training roles,” she said. “I sincerely hope that the industry will seriously consider the findings of this report and take the necessary recommended actions. Through this study, we have enabled the voices of men and women in the industry to be heard; I believe it is time for the industry to listen and take urgent action.”
The report acknowledges that over the past six years the industry has instituted outreach initiatives to directly attract female interest in the profession as a way of addressing a shrinking pilot pipeline, but that it has done little “to understand the lived experiences” of minorities in the industry, especially women.
The study found that most sexual harassment, for example, goes unreported due to the lack of processes that would alleviate the tendency of management to label women who complain as “difficult.” It added that while half of men also expressed dissatisfaction with their initial pilot training, the complaints centered mainly on the cost of training, the poor quality of some training, and, for some, exclusion from “the old boys network” and macho culture.
Another problem area, according to the report, involves the process of recruitment and selection. While most pilots, it said, understand the career path to becoming captain, the process for becoming a trainer remains vague and influenced by senior management. In addition, mostly male internal staff conduct recruitment, and recruiting departments have no formal industry recommendations with which to work except a 1,501-hour total-time requirement.
“Men were more likely to know where to find information about their training department recruitment process, be given support and encouragement to apply, and in some cases invited into the role without a formal interview, unlike women, who were generally not actively encouraged, and all went through a formal interview process,” concluded the report.
Yet another area of concern centers on a lack of role models and mentor support for women, due largely to a lack of female pilot trainers. The presence of more role models and mentors would also tackle the problem of women finding less support than men when applying for training, less awareness of their opportunities early in their careers, and training departments giving less encouragement to women to apply for training positions than their male counterparts.
The authors of the report assert that regulators need to get more involved with training organizations because they “have a duty” of care that not only extends to the wellbeing of individuals but the safety of the flying public.
The study’s recommendations center largely on making current female trainers more visible as role models and a call for an industry-level formal mentoring plan.
“The role of a pilot and pilot trainer is a vocation for most and requires a good deal of financial and emotional commitment,” the authors concluded. “It is a career that carries a high level of satisfaction, despite the problems identified throughout this study. The airline industry is failing many of the women, and some of the men, who follow this vocation and make heavy financial and emotional investments. Women, who are in the minority in both the pilot and pilot trainer roles, need more support from their employers and to be treated with respect by those around them, including peers and passengers. It is of grave concern to us that the unacceptable and shocking behavior towards women during initial pilot 110 training, is still happening today.”