Whirly, I'm sorry to hear that you have experiencd prejudice. Maybe it's a helicopter thing. I must say I have rarely heard one of us girls on the radio in a chopper. On the rare occasions I treat myself to a half hour jolly in an R22 I'm too busy grinning from ear to ear to notice these things!
I've never noticed prejudice in fixed wing, but then I was used to being in a "male" environment, the only girl in a boys school, and a career in farming where I was the only female farm manager in the district made me used to being among the boys and just getting on with it with a good sense of humour; and later giving as good as I got when the comments about the sky not being pink etc came along.
The only "girl" problem I had when learning to fly was occasional harrassment from dirty old men (not exclusive to aviation) calling themselves "instructors", who I refused to fly with again, and as an instructor the occasional randy male student. (and once a randy female student!!) The wedding ring and large Action Man lookalike husband has been a big deterrent to these types I must admit, but I managed OK before my lovely hubby came along.
It's only natural that some of the older men in the industry think of girls as fit only to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, as they may have had those role models in their youth. (especially here in Aus) Thankfully both them and those role models are a rare and decreasing breed these days.
Despite the achievements of female pilots over the years, we are still seen by the ill informed as pioneers. I dislike the "you've done so well - for a girl" comments as much as anyone, but just take them in context, often the person who says it realises how stupid and patronising it sounds straight after they've said it without having it pointed out to them.
Anyway Whirly it sounds like you've done really well despite the prejudice. What a clever girl you are!
