“You’ll Never Really Be One of Us”: Women’s Underrepresentation in the Aviation Workforce

Women are underrepresented in many aviation occupations despite outreach and recruitment efforts from multiple organizations. Attracting women into aviation is a necessity not only to address workforce demand but also to achieve the benefits of a more diverse workforce to include enhanced profitability, safety, and innovation. To address the gender gap, the research presented here attempts to inform recruitment/retention strategies by identifying both the positive and negative factors that influence a woman’s decision to pursue a career in aviation and the decision to persist. Additionally, factors such as participation in youth outreach programs, role of mentors, influencers who support or interfere with the pursuit of aviation as a career for women, and development of a better understanding of barriers to the career field are all explored. The results reveal a profile for recruiting, and identification of factors that deter women from the field, which include cost of entry, negative workplace culture, and maintaining work life balance. The information gained will allow for tailoring strategies for the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women to the identified factors that influence career decisions in order to close the existing gender gaps in aviation