Women airline pilots: numbers are growing, but still a pitiful percentage
Estimates of the percentage of the world's airline pilots who are female vary in the range of 4% to 6%.
This percentage is growing, but gender equality among cockpit crew - seen as the highest paid and highest status career in aviation - is very low by comparison with other fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Global aviation is starting to address the challenge of underrepresentation of women in pilot positions (and in other areas).
It has a lot of catching up to do.
Summary
- The percentage of women airline pilots globally is only 4% to 6%, but growing.
- The number of US women airline pilots grew by 71% from 2002 to 2022, versus a 15% increase for all airline pilots.
- Women airline pilots' share in the US grew from 3.3% in 2002 to 4.9% in 2022.
- Women made up 5.8% of pilots among airlines surveyed by the International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISWAP) in 2021, compared with 5.2% in 2018.
- Air India had the highest percentage of women pilots in ISWAP's 2021 survey.
- By business model, regional airlines were ahead.
The percentage of women airline pilots is very small, but growing
The share of women airline pilots is very small - somewhere between 4% and 6%, depending on the data source - although it is increasing.
According to ICAO, the female cohort of airline pilots increased from 3.6% in 2016 to 4.1% in 2021. Data published by the International Society of Women Pilots (ISWAP) put the global share at 5.2% in 2018 and 5.8% in 2021.
In the UK the share increased from 4.3% in 2016 to 4.9% in 2021 (source: CAA), while the figure for the US increased from 4.4% in 2017 to 4.9% in 2022.
These percentages are growing, but they remain extremely low.
The number of US women airline pilots grew by 71% from 2002 to 2022
As in many sectors of the economy, data for the US are the most extensive.
There were 8,206 women holding FAA certificates as airline pilots in 2022 (as noted above, this was 4.9% of the total).
The number of women airline pilots in the US grew by 71% in the 20 years from 2002 to 2022, compared with a 15% increase for all pilots.
Number of FAA airline pilot certificates held by women, 2002 to 2022*
Women airline pilots' share in the US grew from 3.3% in 2002 to 4.9% in 2022
Women pilots' share of US airline pilot licences has grown over 20 years, rising from 3.3% in 2002 to 4.9% in 2022.
Women's share of all FAA pilot licences in the US is higher than this, and has grown more rapidly in recent years. It was 6.1% in 2002 and 9.6% in 2022, but includes a number of other categories of pilots, such as private pilots and pilots of smaller aircraft not operated by airlines.
The number of women holding FAA student pilot certificates increased more than four times, from 10,082 in 2002 to 42,184 in 2022. As a share of all student pilots, the figure increased from 11.7% in 2002 to 15.0% in 2022.
This indicates a growing interest among women in qualifying as cockpit crew (but these numbers include all categories of student pilots, not only those training to be airline pilots).
Share of FAA pilot certificates held by women, 2002 to 2021*
Among airlines surveyed by ISWAP in 2021, 5.8% of pilots were women
The publication by individual airlines of pilot numbers by gender is inconsistent.
A useful source is the International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISWAP), which gathers and publishes some data on the number of female pilots by airline across different countries - although this is not comprehensive.
Graphics on the ISWAP website show data for 20 airlines around the world in 2021.
It is not clear how these 20 airlines were selected, although all are well known and among the world's leading airlines.
The 5.8% ratio for women pilots published by ISWAP is higher than the figures mentioned above from ICAO, the US and the UK - perhaps this reflects some self-selection bias, since airlines making their data available to the ISWAP may be more likely to have a higher ratio of women pilots.
This figure of 5.8% in 2021 is a little higher than a 2018 figure of 5.2% from ISWAP, which was based on a survey of 79 airlines.
Air India had the highest percentage of women pilots in ISWAP's 2021 survey
According to the ISWAP graphic, Air India had the highest share of women amongst its pilots in 2021, with 12.7%.
Next were Aer Lingus, with 9.9%, Hawaiian Airlines, with 9.3%, and United Airlines, with 7.7%.
Lufthansa, Alaska Airlines, Air Canada, UPS, Qantas and British Airways were also above the overall average of 5.8%.
At the lower end of the scale were Qatar Airways (2.4%), Emirates Airline (2.2%), Aeroflot Russian Airlines (2.2%), Japan Airlines (1.3%) and Singapore Airlines (0.4%).
By business model, regional airlines were ahead
The ISWAP graphics include analysis of women pilot representation by airline business model.
It found that regional airlines had the highest share of female cockpit crew in 2021, with 6.4%.
Low cost airlines had 6.1%, while major airlines and cargo airlines had only 5.0%.
Women pilots as a percentage, by airline business model, 2021
Global aviation is starting to address the challenge of underrepresentation…
Global aviation is working to address the underrepresentation of women in pilot positions and in other areas of the industry, such as in air traffic control and as maintenance technicians.
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is a United Nations (UN) agency, passed a resolution in 2016 aimed at promoting the participation of women in global aviation. This aligned ICAO with one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to achieve gender parity and empower all women and girls.
It held its inaugural Global Aviation Gender Summit in 2018 and followed this up with a second Summit in Jul-2023.
The airline trade body International Air Transport Association (IATA) has a voluntary initiative called '25by25', which aims at increasing female representation in senior roles and in areas where women are historically underrepresented in aviation.
…but has a long way to go
However, the challenge remains substantial.
By comparison with other professions in the area of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), gender equality still has a very long way to go in the field of airline pilots.
According to UNESCO, 44% of medical doctors, 33% of astronauts, 29% of scientists and 21% of engineers are women.
The figure for airline pilots of between 4% and 6% (depending on the source) is strikingly slight, even if it is growing.