Surely as an industry we shouldn’t be focused on the percentage of women to men, but more on training quality and getting the correct person for the job.
Spoken like a true pilot unaware of the self-imposed public image - just like me!
The issue is purely
PR. I've flown with as many female pilots who have called out my mistakes as male pilots. I've seen just as many female pilots make greasers as male pilots (and just as many treating the runway as the
USS Nimitz).
The issue is not technical, but trying to match the "societal" image of "fair and equal." As was mentioned, females make up 50% of the population, so in theory that should be the same in the industry. But if, as intruder pointed out, females do not make up 50% of the pilot base (it's probably closer to 25 or 30% - exactly the percentage I see in my company).
Many airlines, however, are pressured into showing they are "fair and equal employers," so they have to hire people who would otherwise be considered "unqualified" (by that I mean not meeting all of the minimum requirements rather than not holding the basic licenses).
However, society simply cannot handle hearing anyone is "unqualified" for a role; especially when it comes to women or minorities. So many organizations are "forced" into hiring people into positions that would otherwise be given to a more experienced person.
Like the majority of pilots (and men) I don't care if someone of another gender or race gets a job over me. My issue, and I suspect yours too, is that it is often not a level playing field for everyone. If it were, then we would truly have equality...but equality does not mean hiring all the women and minorities of the world to "fill slots." It means hiring the right person for the job, no matter what "undercarriage, fuselage type, or preference for flight level" they may have.