Whirly
Great you started this thread, although what I am about to post you may consider enough to pull the plug on the lot as it doesnt quite fit your original mold - I hope not.
And now I am about to blow at least half my cover in owning up to being a woman too! I am pretty new to aviation and I must say I have been impressed at the camaraderie I've experienced thus far - I feel privileged to have been able to develop such a passion and to be amongst others who are also DRIVEN!! However, SO FEW OF THEM ARE WOMEN!
I also recently read about some research done recently at Arizona State, Embry-Riddle and several other institutions about the paucity of women coming through collegiate aviation. Article stated that approx. "6% of all US pilots are women with only 3 % of airline transport pilots are women". I'm sure this doesnt surprise anyone, but somehow putting it in stark figures like that still jolts. Particularly if as MLS-12D suggests there is no difference between males and females when it comes to ability.
So why is this so?
Certainly, the culture around when I was in my teens and early adulthood - so long ago now I dont fancy dwelling on defining the interval
- just didnt support the notion of women being engineers, pilots, busdrivers etc etc. And I got unknowingly swamped or persuaded by this, so I imagine lots of others of my peers did too. But I would have thought that for young people these days the cultural thing would have to be far less a culprit.
I guess I have to be wrong about that though as it cant be the genes that are to blame for so few women pilots - surely.
One thing that I have had a couple of times now though is an observation about how women - me being an example - tend to have a better (more sensitive or intuitive is what is meant here) "feel" for the controls, at least in the early stages of training. Is this significant? Have others (women that is) had this reaction to their early efforts or heard of similar?
In closing I have to say though that the blokes I've met thus far (the pilots - bit different with the engineers) are simply fantastic guys and have provided me with tremendous inspiration and support. Thanks guys.