Commercial aviation still a 'boys' club' worldwide, see which country has the highest proportion of female pilots

Since the first commercial airline service began operations more than a century ago, earning one’s flight wings still comes with the same amount of honour and prestige. To be a sailor of the skies requires a high level of intelligence, the ability to handle immense amounts of pressure and a strong presence of mind. (Image: Reuters)

As more and more people being able to afford air tickets in India means the need for commercial pilots is increasing. India is touted as the world’s fastest growing aviation market with domestic capacity going up by 22 percent in the first half of 2018. According to an estimate by Boeing, close to 790,000 new pilots will be needed to take over the controls all over the world in the next 20 years. (Image: Reuters)

One way to meet this imminent dearth in supply is that more women take up the front seat in cockpits. In the 21st century, commercial aviation continues to be a boys’ club. According to data from the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, only five percent of the world’s commercial airline pilots are women. (Image: Reuters)

India has the largest number of female pilots to cruise the skies, with 12 percent of the country’s commercial pilots being women. Western countries such as the United States and Australia by contrast, have less than half of this number as a percentage of their country’s women airline pilots. (Image: Reuters)

If one can pass the muster, being an airline pilot is one of the few industries that provide an equal opportunity work environment for women. Salaries are handed out on the basis of seniority and the number of flight hours. There is no gender gap in the disbursement of payments, as equal pay is mandated by unions. Airline pilots start out earning $25,000 to $40,000 per year, with maternity leave and daycare facilities .(Image: Reuters)

While there is still a long way to go before seeing an equal number of men and women at the controls of commercial planes across India, the rising number of women enrolling in flight schools can be safely assumed to be a step taken in the right direction. (Image: Reuters)