Totally agree with everything that has been said so far.
I say to a female friend
"I'm going flying a the weekend to **** would you like to come?" The answer
"flying yeah right, you'll not catch me near an aeroplane for fun, I have to be forced to go on holiday in one.
I say to a male friend
"Im going flying at the weekend to **** would you like to come?" The answer
"flying, oh wow where are we going, how long will that take how big is the plane/engine/wing" (or anything else along those lines)
It's very much a case of I know very few women who are truely interested, however for most men its a dream they've had since they were knee high to a grasshopper!
As for nature vs nurture, I would say a bit of both. Like whirly I was into climbing, building, destroying and have never had a doll in my life. Now however I'm very much female and love to get spoiled, dressed up, go dancing etc and I do have that caring mothering attitude aswell. However my parents and teachers never really forced me either way-and as for my careers advisor, being a pilot himself he was more than pleased to know what I was going into.
Another big point in this is that in my opinion it is easier for a woman to get a job/opportunity than it is for a man because we are a novelty, we can bring some balance that "just another guy" couldn't. No bearing on "actual" skills-that depends on the individual-but more on perspective.
99.