Originally Posted by
SevenTwentySeven
Interesting research paper (written by a female):
https://www.researchgate.net/publica...Airline_Pilots
finds that female pilots have higher accident rates and that
"affirmative action programs should not be
designed to lower the flying standards for
females in order to increase the number of
female airline pilots."
No, it finds that when corrected for experience and age, there is no difference in accident rates. "After adjusting for variables included in the model, accident rates of males and females were not significantly different. These findings suggest that neither males nor females are a safer pilot group. Airlines should make every effort to recruit and retain experienced females".
Other studies have found lower accident rates among female pilots. (Comparing ATPL holders in the USA found that women accounted for 1.4% of accidents, when they were 4% of the total pilot population).
And Keg, re the old nature vs nurture argument, I doubt many parents would recognise their unconscious, ingrained biases which in turn affect the desires of their children.
To those who complain about not getting the best person for the job, Orange Future is absolutely correct - at the moment the entire set up (not blaming any one gender for this, it's just the way society is) makes it far easier for men to follow a career in aviation than for women to do so. Therefore, by discouraging women, airlines are missing the chance to recruit "the best" as they are ignoring a large pool of possible candidates. Since some are supposedly worried about the best person for the job, maybe they should focus on encouraging women in aviation?