Originally Posted by
BleedingAir
And I'll again ask the question that has already been asked 100 times -- why is the lower proportion of women in flying jobs seen as a "problem" or "puzzle" that needs to be fixed or solved? Why not any of the other roles in the industry that are dominated by one gender, as has been mentioned above?
Women should be made aware at a grass roots level that the industry is not at all discriminatory and if they're interested in a flying career to go for it. Then let the statistics fall where they may.
The lack of diversity in pilot jobs is a problem because it could lead to a safety implication. "Studies conducted on teams, measured their productivity, creativity and problem solving skills and the more diverse a team was the higher it scored on each of the measures." I think we can all agree that our job requires teamwork and problem solving - if there is more diversity it has been shown that problem solving, creativity and productivity are improved. Therefore the profession as a whole improves with more diversity. The same could be said of Nursing - more male nurses would lead to better patient outcomes. Engineering - more females involved could lead to better problem solving and creativity. Gargage collecting does not have a safety implication for the general public so it is not a problem if women are not involved.
Whilst the industry is not deliberately discriminatory the barriers to women achieving at the highest level are many. The fact that people consider flying a man's job is enough to put off a few from pursuing the career. Then there is the fact that a women who succeeds is put down by some as having succeeded by opening her legs - this sort of toxic innuendo is also harmful to confidence (and confidence is a big part of succeeding in aviation.) The fact that some (and very few, but it only takes one to really put someone off a career in aviation) men will use their position to recruit women and then put pressure on them for sex also puts another barrier in front of a woman applying for a job - are they being recruited to be treated as an object or is it a genuine chance for a job?
The fact that the industry is male dominated mean women have far fewer role models. The fact that women have a limited time to have children and during those younger ages is when a huge committment to the career is required in order to gain experience, must also be an added barrier.
If the processes required to get the job are putting off women to such an extent, then maybe those processes need to be examined and modified?
It is not only the fault of men, women also are responsible for perpetuating myths about job suitability. This is not an attack on one gender but simply an attempt to logically present some reasons why things need to change.