A US Woman Flew an All-Woman Piloted Flight to India and Cannot Stop Gushing About It
At 12 percent, India has the highest number of woman pilots in the world.
At 12 percent, India has the highest number of woman pilots in the world.
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India may not be the best place when it comes to women's safety and equality in jobs and education, but there is one aspect in which Indian women seem to be ahead of the rest of world - becoming pilots.
The distinction was highlighted recently by a US flyer who flew from New York to New Delhi in a commercial aircraft piloted by an all-woman crew.
Yes, India has one of the highest numbers of female pilots in the world. According to a recent Reuters report, 12 percent of Indian pilots are women. The global average of women pilots is just 5 percent!
India is the world's fastest-growing aviation market, with domestic capacity growing 22% in the first half of the year, so airlines there are under particular pressure.
Maria Bucur, a professor of history and gender studies at Indiana University told Reuters that recruiting more women is an obvious way to help solve the pilot shortage. However, she said that social constraints have worked against that.
"Work as a pilot require choices of women that go against most of the gendered expectations our society has of them at that age: to have babies," she said.
Nevertheless, the fact that the number of women pilots is more than double the number in even developed nations such as the US, Australia and others is surely a feat worth applauding.
The distinction was highlighted recently by a US flyer who flew from New York to New Delhi in a commercial aircraft piloted by an all-woman crew.
Flew from NY to Delhi today on Air India with a female pilot and an all female flight crew. Turns out that India has the largest number of female pilots in the world. And yes, we arrived at our destination early after a smooth flight and perfect landing. Jai Hind! pic.twitter.com/wkgdMHMVWD
— Cristine Legare (@CristineLegare) September 10, 2018
Yes, India has one of the highest numbers of female pilots in the world. According to a recent Reuters report, 12 percent of Indian pilots are women. The global average of women pilots is just 5 percent!
India is the world's fastest-growing aviation market, with domestic capacity growing 22% in the first half of the year, so airlines there are under particular pressure.
Maria Bucur, a professor of history and gender studies at Indiana University told Reuters that recruiting more women is an obvious way to help solve the pilot shortage. However, she said that social constraints have worked against that.
"Work as a pilot require choices of women that go against most of the gendered expectations our society has of them at that age: to have babies," she said.
Nevertheless, the fact that the number of women pilots is more than double the number in even developed nations such as the US, Australia and others is surely a feat worth applauding.