NEWS: BA Launches Campaign To Attract Female Pilots

AS PART of a push to attract more female pilots, British Airways has released the results of a survey which explores why so few women pursue careers as professional pilots.
Reported in FlyerTalk, the findings revealed common misconceptions when it came to female roles in the aviation industry including a lack of visible role models and being told it was a man’s job. 2000 women in the UK took part in the survey.
• 63 per cent of women surveyed said they were deterred from the career when they were growing up
• 20 per cent of respondents felt that there was a visible lack of role models for female pilots — both in real life as well as in TV and film.
• 20 per cent of respondents believed that women could only be cabin crew
• 13 per cent of respondent had never been a passenger in a plane flown by a female pilot
• 10 per cent of respondents said they were told that this career path was restricted to men.
While the results of the survey provide insight into how the profession may be perceived, British Airways’ Senior First Officer Helen MacNamara touted her love of the job to BBC. “I absolutely love this job and cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone — male or female,” she said, stressing the importance of raising the profile of the career so that young women will be inspired to become pilots.
While only 200 of British Airways’ nearly 4,000 pilots are female, the carrier recently launched the Future Pilot Programme — a cadet training campaign aimed at bringing more female pilots and experienced employees into its ranks. Captain Stephen Riley, the carrier’s director of flight operations, believes that the program will help promote the career to talented pilots, regardless of their gender.