Female pilots – good or bad? Hmmm…
Four years ago, I wrote a blog post about female pilots versus male pilots. Four years? Doesn’t time fly! Ahem…
It all began when a renowned female newspaper journalist admitted that women pilots make her nervous. She went on to say, “Sometimes in life, it feels better to have a strong man in charge.”
I previously mentioned that brute force is not necessary for flying a plane safely. It requires calm, clear thinking and the ability to handle any situation in the air, not muscles. There is nothing wrong with female pilots. I can vouch for their competence. Many years ago, I went to Jamaica for my grandma’s funeral. I flew into Montego Bay via Tampa on short notice, as there were no direct flights from London to Kingston. Then I had to take an internal flight from Montego Bay to Tinson Pen in Kingston.
The flight was dreadful. Truly dreadful! And to this day, it remains my worst. It was a man in the cockpit. With all the dipping and diving he was doing, I thought I was going to die. And I was already on my way to a funeral!
I was glad to land in Tinson Pen, I can tell you, wherever that was. I spent the whole week in Kingston fretting about going back to Montego Bay that way. If I had had the means, I would have gone by road. But instead, I had to fly back, and what a sweet experience that was. Sweet. Sweet. Everything about the flight was smooth and easy, and when we ran into a little turbs, the person at the controls knew exactly what to do to give us a safe landing. That person was a woman.
That was my personal experience. But now it is official. Because if your flight is hit by a crisis, having a woman at the controls is your best bet. This is what researchers from the University of Waterloo in Canada discovered. Putting both male and female pilots through their paces, researchers found that female pilots have unique strengths that male pilots do not. They have steadier hands and cooler heads in the cockpit. They responded to information with more consistency and accuracy. And they made fewer mistakes. They are often more collaborative, better at listening, and more likely to seek input from co-pilots and crew.
When passengers board a plane, most do not know who is in the cockpit. But ask them later if it was a man or a woman flying the aircraft; many assume male by default. And statistically, they would be right. The aviation industry remains heavily male-dominated.
Only about 5% of commercial airline pilots worldwide are women. There aren’t a lot of them, but those that are often face higher scrutiny and fewer chances to make mistakes without judgment. Many become exceptionally competent, meticulous, and prepared, not because they are inherently better, but because they have had to prove themselves more.
Every woman in a male-dominated field understands that you are not allowed to be average. You have to be better. More prepared. More precise. More resilient. That pressure, while unjust, often breeds excellence. Many female pilots report working harder to maintain spotless records. And that’s why female pilots outshine their male counterparts.
As passengers, we may not get to choose who is flying the plane. But the next time you hear that calm, clear voice from the flight deck – and it’s a woman – you can feel a little extra confident. Not just because she earned her seat, but because she is keeping you safe with precision, professionalism, and an edge honed through experience. Go girl!
