Why are there more male pilots than female pilots?

Question

For airline commerical flights, there are like virtually all male pilots and hardly any female pilots...why?
I asked my dad and had a heated argument with him...he said that females are only good at servicing people so they can only be stewardess....he also said that women lack concentration, lack control and a sense of direction aka decision making during emergency situation and can't keep their cool...although I don't quite agree...I must say that perhaps my dad is right.
Can someone offer me their thought?
Do airlines employ female pilots or is there a rule which says that they only want male pilots?
For male pilots..what are their strengths over female pilots?

thank you

Answer 1

Let me start by saying that women make great pilots, they are no better or worse than men. I've seen good and bad from both. Women just haven't gone into flying as a career as much as men. Most professional pilots come out of the military and with this being said, there are more women pilots in the military today than ever. I expect to see an increase in female pilots in the future, but I doubt that the number of women pilots will surpass the number of men pilot's for several years down the road, if ever. Being a pilot has always held with it a Macho image and a lot of women don't want to portray that image, they just want to fly. But, there are a few women out there that just like to use it as a dominance factor over men. Men do the same thing. There are many reasons why people choose aviation as a career and just as many reasons to do something else.

Answer 2

I think it has to do with the paths we are most likely to chose as women. For a majority, there's the whole "wanting to get married, have kids" thing. That being said, there are a great number who would love to fly planes, and can do so with great ability. My thoughts on your dad are not fit for civilized conversation, although I will offer that he is totally wrong. Airlines DO employ female pilots, as they are more careful pilots, and less likely to buckle under pressure, and will take less risk in landing and taking off. The only possible strength over females that I can think of for a male pilot is that he may be more able to overpower a terrorist in hand to hand combat, unless the female pilot has had training in that area... Go with your dream to fly if you want to. Never let anyone tell you you're not good enough because of what is or is not under your underwear!

Answer 3

Why are more nurses female? There are some differences in male and female psychology, but the real reason for gender dominance in a particular profession is habit and society. In general these profession have always been dominated by one gender or another. As a result the attitude that it's "woman's work" or "a man's job" creeps in and is hard to overcome. Also, society often reinforces these attitudes by making it harder for the other gender to succeed.

You dad is wrong, and he's a complete sexist pig from the sounds of it. I'm not sure how your mom feels about this idea of his, but you should ask her.

In the particular case of pilots, many of the early pilots in the airline industry were retired military pilots, and women could not serve easily in the military. There were women pilots quite early on, but they generally were private pilots first. And without the ready availability of government sponsored training, they just weren't as numerous.

Answer 4

Forget what these MEN are telling you. If they really want to compare females to males behind the controls, they should look at the accident rate of vehicles...as in who causes the most accidents. Men beat women out as the cause of accidents 5 to 1. That's why they are the most 'at risk' to insure drivers.

As far as what your Dad says...well he's a bonehead, too. Ask him to read a few clinical studies. Women are far better at handling stressful situations than men. And far better at handling crisis.

There is no rule against female pilots. However, the bonehead above was right. Much of the training and experience required by commercial airlines occurs in the military. And not too many women have gone into military aviation. The number is on the rise, however. And I believe you are going to see more and more women piloting commercial airlines in the future.

And they will likely be much better at it than the men!! HA!!

Answer 5

There are plenty of women airline pilots. Most airline pilots are not ex-military-pilots.

Fewer girls get started in flight training, and their proportion is smaller and smaller for each added raiting.

Answer 6

Can you imagine PMS at 30,000 feet?


Just kidding ladies. I know a few female pilots that are just as good if not better then male pilots. I think it's just what people tend to want to do in life.

The other reason is that most pilots for commercial airelines are ex-vets who were trained in the military. IF you consider most pilot ages, back then most pilots in the military were men.

Answer 7

Whatever the reason is.......... I have to confess,that I feel some kind of uneasiness when sitting on a plane with a female pilot.I don´t no why and it is silly nowadays.

Answer 8

females dont have a matured brain like males , so they cannot concentrate on emergency landing s or at crashing situations , females are skilled for serving and flight attending only not for flying the plane by herself , females cant fly the simple tecnam P-92 so how they can fly a commercial airliner? its simple , dude

Answer 9

Because more men are interested in that kind of job that women.