In the 40-some years since Britain got its first female commercial airline captain, the numbers on the meter have hardly budged; only 3 percent of the world's pilots are women, and in Britain just under 6 percent.
At a time of worldwide pilot shortage as well as pressure for gender equity, that doesn't sit well with many, including two British airlines, EasyJet and British Airways, which are both working at recruiting and training more women. That's an issue of particular interest to the CEO of EasyJet: Carolyn McCall is not a pilot, but she's one of only seven female CEOs in top British companies.
Two issues that have come up: Not only a degree, especially in the beginning, of sexist prejudice against women as pilots, but also a reluctance by young woman to consider the field because of fear of long family-disrupting hours. For a longer view of the subject, and interviews with a number of woman pilots, from the Telegraph (UK) click HERE
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