Women airline pilot numbers stay low. Aspiration and career structures are key

The UK's female pilot population is growing faster than total pilot numbers.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has reported a 26% increase in all pilot licences (not just airline pilots) issued to women in the UK between 2019 and 2023. This compares with a 15% increase in total pilot licences issued.

However, the proportion of women pilots flying with airlines in the UK, and in the US, is still only around 5%. Globally, this share is in the region of 4% to 6%, although comprehensive and up-to-date figures are hard to find.

Although female cockpit crew numbers are growing, these percentages show that pilot gender equality still has a massive mountain to climb.

The debate has moved on from unfounded questions of competence to challenges surrounding aspiration and career structures.

Meeting these challenges and growing women pilot numbers would help to ease the global pilot shortage and diversify perspectives in a key part of the aviation workforce. As a very basic starting point, all airlines should be required to publish the gender breakdown of their pilot numbers.