Lawmakers Address Bill To Boost Women's Aviation Careers

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee tomorrow is set to consider a bill designed to bolster careers for women in the aviation industry.

The bill, Promoting Women in the Aviation Workforce Act (H.R. 4673), would create a Women in Aviation Advisory Board to support organizations and programs that provide education, training, mentorship, and recruitment of women in the aviation industry.

Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-Connecticut) introduced the bill late last year, and the legislation has picked up 17 co-sponsors. Noting that women are significantly underrepresented in the aviation industry, Esty, in introducing the bill, said that the legislation “continues the important work of encouraging more people—and especially women—to consider careers in the high-skill field of aerospace. At a time when nearly a fifth of our aerospace engineers are able to consider retiring, we need to elevate the initiatives happening in the private sector to encourage women to join this important sector of the workforce.”

The bill is similar to legislation introduced in December by Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) and is one of a growing number of efforts to foster women's careers in aviation. In December the House approved by a vote of 409-17 the Women in Aerospace Act, designed to further open fellowship and grant opportunities to women.

NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen endorsed the efforts, commending lawmakers for “recognizing the need for women to have greater representation in aviation, and taking this step to address the challenge.”

The House panel will consider the bill on the eve of the opening of the 29th Annual International Women in Aviation Conference in Reno, Nevada. That conference, to be held from March 22 to 24, will feature sessions designed to mentor women seeking to advance their careers in aviation, including a series of planned hiring briefings from operators and manufacturers.