Just thought I'd share ten years of instructing experience...on average, I've found that girls (including me!) take nearly twice as long to go solo as the boys. Often the reason for this is lack of self esteem and belief that they CAN land an aeroplane on their own, manifested in reluctance to make command decisions and constantly looking for approval and confirmation that they are doing the right thing; trying too hard and getting in a muddle, and giving up too easily. These are typical "girl" things, not just in aviation; but a few of the boys have these problems too.
But once the girls have overcome these self-doubts they often outstrip the boys in multi tasking under pressure, preparation, communication and attention to detail. Important skills for a professional pilot.
In general, when it comes to mistakes in the early stages, the girls make silly ones but the boys are more likely to make potentially dangerous ones, and boys are more unpredictable in the way they react to simulated emergency situations. But there is no doubt that the boys often have the advantage in motor skills.
Life would be boring if we were all the same
