'Affirmative Action' is an American device, and is not used in Europe in most circumstances.
There are few female commercial pilots in UK, and the numbers aren't increasing as fast as might have been hoped. In fact, there have been women pilots in commercial aviation since before WW2. The reasons there aren't more are complex and difficult to define clearly, but sexual discrimination is not one of them these days. Most airlines would love to recruit more women, subject to them making the appropriate ability and experience criteria, but they just aren't out there applying for the jobs.
I was quite closely involved in training some of the first women pilots and navigators in the RAF, and found the spread of ability and application to be similar to that of the men. The able ones were welcomed in with open arms, though the RAF did make a few, erm, 'political' appointments right at the very start! Most of those ladies would be just about the right stage in their RAF careers to be leaving now and looking for commercial jobs. Sadly, there are few of them left in flying as so many have either left to start families or effectively abandoned flying to become career officers.
So, Emma, please keep working for your licences - we'd love to have you join us.
Scroggs