Absent Aviators: Gender Issues in Aviation

Citation

Oriana Robertson (2015), "Absent Aviators: Gender Issues in Aviation", Gender in Management, Vol. 30 No. 5, pp. 427-431. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-04-2015-0037

Absent Aviators: Gender Issues in Aviation, edited by Donna Bridges, Jane Neal-Smith and Albert J. Mills, is a collection of studies focused on exploring struggles and challenges faced by women in various aviation career fields. The aim of the collection is to highlight the unique issues women face in the aviation realm. The book is organized in three parts where gender issues are discussed in the context of the profession (piloting), the work setting (military and civil aviation), technical issues related to design (automation and the glass cockpit) and moving forward to support women in the field.

In Part 1, the authors bring to discussion gender issues that arise in aviation, beginning with historical examples, and ending with common issues that are still being dealt with today. In Chapter 1, the author discusses the factors of race, gender, class and nationality, all which influence how individuals were treated while working for Pan American Airways from 1929 to 1989. The author shares examples of women in the workplace and how their roles evolved as men left for the Second World War and left vacancies in the workforce. She also focuses on the evolving social roles of women as men returned from war looking to resume where they had left, and years after the war and women began fighting for gender equality.

In Chapter 2, the author explores how and why girls decide to join or not join the aviation career field. Some reasons include girls’ perceptions of flying, opportunities for positive experiences with pilots and exposure to female role models, as well as personal beliefs related to the possibility or impossibility of becoming a pilot. The author concludes that specific actions need to be taken to ensure girls have positive perceptions surrounding aviation, and are not afraid to fly or become aviators. She also emphasizes that more girls need to be exposed to the positive side of flying.

In Chapter 3, the author discusses physical differences between men and women, and whether these differences have a negative impact on flying. Topics include physical strength, anthropometry, ejection, female health issues and cultural issues, specifically within the military working environment. The author also addresses current female issues found in the Royal Australian Air Force such as breast implants, long hair and the logistics of going to the bathroom in fighter aircraft with long flying times.

The authors in the last chapter of Part 1 explore gender-based attitudes among pilots. The authors found that female pilots were perceived differently than male pilots, and in some cases, men did not trust flying with females. In this chapter, the authors concluded that understanding perceptions regarding female pilots enables better training in the areas of communication differences, gender sensitivity, diversity training, gender stereotyping and crew resource management (CRM) topics.

In Part 2, the authors emphasize the barriers women face in military and civil aviation. In Chapter 5, the author explores the cultural barriers women face in the Australian Defense Force (ADF). She found that for women to fit into the Defense Force, they had to display masculine qualities and learn to be “one of the boys”. The latter was reinforced through pressures women face as a result of the need to conform to masculine behaviors and communication styles, bullying from male peers, sexual harassment and perceptions of favoritism toward women. In the Defense Force, women experienced difficulties establishing friendships with their male peers, being accepted by male peers as loyal counterparts and finding social roles as fellow aviators versus roles of a mother or sister. The author argued that women would benefit from female leadership as mentors and guides to support them in dealing with these barriers.

In Chapter 6, the institutional dimensions of the barriers identified in the previous chapter are further explored. The chapter focuses on gender relations within the ADF, which the author explains is an inherently masculine organization, where leaders look positively toward masculine values, attitudes and behaviors. Historically, women have not served in the ADF; however, increasingly more women are becoming aviators. A resulting challenge is that aviation is created from a masculine culture; therefore, women feel that they need to conform and portray male attributes to be part of it. On the other hand, with more females joining aviation, some men may feel that by sharing careers with women, they may be losing job satisfaction because it may not seem like masculine work. The author posits that the institutional culture of the military must change for women to be completely accepted by their male peers and to feel like they are part of the whole. The author suggests that new forms of training are needed, such as cultural training as well as creating more experiences and more opportunities for males and females to fly together.

The specific dynamics of the pilot role are the focus on Chapter 7, where the authors discuss gender issues found on the flight deck. The authors position the gender issues by framing them as the result of stereotypes regarding men and women and the occupations that they are expected to hold (horizontal segregation), and the cultural beliefs that men are more and better suited for particular positions, especially in leadership (vertical segregation). The chapter reports a survey study where men and women were asked about a series of topics that included flying proficiency, safety orientation, industry gender issues and equity. The study found clear differences between men and women, and also shared understandings between both men and women that provided insight into the disadvantageous position of women in aviation. For instance, in relation to flying proficiency, the authors found that both men and women believe that gender is not a factor in determining the proficiency of pilots. However, based on comments after the survey was conducted, male pilots noted that they felt women pilots did not have natural mechanical sense or a clear understanding of the dynamics of flight, which impacted males’ perceptions of females’ skills. As far as safety, the survey showed that males took more risks and were less attentive, and some women believed that men allowed their egos to override safety decisions. Males felt women took more time planning and did not have a lot of confidence in their skills. In relation to ideas about the industry, individuals surveyed felt that female trainees relied more on books when it came to flying, whereas men were more interested in the practical side of flying. However, despite the shared understanding that men and women learn differently and process information in different ways, even when the result is the same, both men and women in the survey believed that women took longer to achieve the same skill level as men in the aircraft. When discussing gender issues, those surveyed believed women were subject to more hormonal changes and mood swings, which may lead to safety problems and poor CRM. Female pilots surveyed believed this was perceived as a weakness by their male counterparts. Other safety issues noted included that women may not be as strong as men, they may not have the strength to manipulate the aircraft controls in case of emergencies and they may even be too short to reach the pedals effectively in the aircraft. In relation to equity, women felt that they were treated differently than males in the flight deck, and that they had to prove themselves more because of the few women aviators. They also felt judged more and that they had to fight constantly against the masculine image of the pilot to gain equal respect. In this chapter, the authors conclude that the many gender issues that arise in the flight deck emerge from both practical issues as well as perceptions. The authors argue that for women to gain equality in the flight deck, perceptions need to be changed, and stereotypical beliefs need to be transformed.

Chapter 8 presents a study of females in commercial airlines, providing insight into the prevalence of gender stereotyping within the aviation career field. The main barriers revealed by the study include lack of female role models, the financial burden of becoming an airline pilot, challenging academics, the attitudes of the flight instructors, the design of the cockpit and the existing attitude of employers. The author contends that to attract more females into the aviation career field, airlines need to adjust their recruitment methods to focus on women, and leaders need to focus on gender diversity within training environments and make a deliberate attempt to alter the organizational environment to make it more gender neutral.

In Part 3 of the book, contributions focus on the technical issues involved in being a pilot. They explore the gender issues that arise from automation, and specifically focus on the “glass cockpit” installed inside aircrafts, comparing male and female pilots’ perceptions of these types of cockpits. In Chapter 9, the authors report on a study about automation in light aircraft where the authors found that a majority of participants thought the new automated aircraft technology made flying more complicated, and the more complex the flying, the less they wanted to be in the cockpit. In the study, the primary concern was the need for additional training and the increase in the knowledge required to work with the technology. Pilots were also concerned they would lose their piloting skills if replaced by technology. With respect to gender, the study illustrated that more men preferred the automated systems over women, but women had more concerns over the new technology. Women felt the new technology might be too sophisticated, and people might misuse it. The perceptions of the new technology relate to the earlier studies focusing on risk-taking behavior and the belief that male pilots take too many risks and do not feel as vulnerable.

The gender issues and differences in relation to glass cockpits are further explored in Chapters 10 and 11. In Chapter 10, the authors report on a study that found that both male and female pilots were concerned about the additional attention needed to fly with glass cockpits and were concerned about becoming too reliant on the automation factor. They also found there was not a significant gender difference when it came to performance workload emotion and psychophysiological activation between normal and abnormal operations when using the glass cockpit. In relation to controls, the study highlighted the fact that male pilots have a tendency to benefit more from the cockpit automation because they were not as distracted as female pilots. Conversely, female pilots were more successful when they flew in a manual mode versus using the automation. The overall findings of the studies illustrate that aviation pilots need to use more resources in the cockpit to improve their performance and reduce their workloads when managing routine procedures, specifically when flying aircrafts with the glass cockpits. However, the gender issues did not seem fully explored in this chapter beyond distinctions between men and women in their perceptions of the glass cockpits and their functioning. In Chapter 11, the last chapter of this section, the authors compare male and female pilots’ perceptions regarding glass cockpits. The results of the study showed that men found the glass cockpit more useful in lowering their workload. They also felt that the technology increased their situational awareness, especially during approaches, but most men were concerned they would become over-reliant on the automation. Women were similar in that they were concerned that they would lose piloting skills if they became too reliant on the automation. They also felt that there needed to be more training and additional certifications for using the advanced systems. In conclusion, the authors found that male and female pilots had similar perceptions regarding the glass cockpit and advanced technology, suggesting that there are not significant gender differences in relation to perceptions about the use of technology in aviation.

The last section of the book focuses on taking action, more specifically what organizations can do to help retain female aviators, inspire more girls to join the aviation community and help break down the barriers and challenges women currently face in aviation. In Chapter 12, the author focuses on strategies organizations can use to help boost the confidence of female aviators, highlighting the importance of developing confidence through a focus on women’s learning styles and adjusting to these differences. She reinforces this idea by proposing new guides for instructors when training female pilots based on the findings that males and females learn and respond differently when learning how to fly. In addition, she also promotes teaching strategies that focus on how to deal with femininity in male-dominated fields. Ultimately, the author posits that women need to get together and discuss techniques and opportunities to attract more females into aviation, for example through more role models and mentors as buddies within organizational contexts. Finally, the author addresses the challenges faced by women who leave aviation to have families and proposes that the airline industry modify the work schedule for women, allowing them to work part-time or work around family needs. The author recognizes that negative perceptions need to be challenged and changed, and more opportunities for positive interactions with female aviators need to be facilitated and promoted. In conclusion, the author poses great responsibility on the aviation industry to recognize the lack of attention given to gender issues in aviation and calls for a focus on this gap to keep building up the number of women in aviation.

The final chapter of the book focuses on a research project called “Teaching Women to Fly”. This research project illustrates significant findings including the top 10 barriers which stop women from learning to fly, and the top 10 ways to increase success in general aviation flight training. In this chapter, the author also presents 101 ideas to increase success for women in general aviation. The authors outline what aviation organizations can do to increase women aviators, what flight schools and flight instructors can modify to meet the needs of women, what ergonomics can be improved and what pilots in aviation organizations can do to build future women aviators. The closing of the chapter illustrates what future studies need to be conducted to continue progression regarding women pilots, and the barriers women continue to face in aviation.

As a female aviator and a scholar, I found the discussions in this book about gender issues and CRM on the aircraft to be extremely insightful and accurate. This book is helpful in illustrating both the previous and current barriers that women have faced in aviation, highlighting the pressing issues that need attention in the field. The book was very eye-opening to read as a female aviator and educational in relation to the struggles that women go through to be successful in the aviation industry. The studies in this book close information gaps regarding perceptions, gender issues and other unique circumstances that women face in the male-dominated aviation career field. In addition, they offer a springboard for future studies and provide many suggestions for the focus of future time and energy to understand aviation as a field and what needs to happen to open up opportunities for women in aviation.