The Sky is Open, but Not Equal
- Jee Efraimidou
- Mar 27
- 2 min read
People have always associated airspace with ambitions, something spiritually lofty. Hence the sayings like "to be on cloud nine" or the belief of religious people that God is sitting up there, where paradise is located in the sky. On the other hand, the sky becomes a space of social imbalance and exclusion. While pioneers like Marina Raskova and Valentina Tereshkova challenged the norms in their own way, to this day, a huge number of women encounter structural and cultural barriers and ossified prejudices in aviation, especially in the military industry.
In the Russian Federation, women were denied the opportunity to become a full-fledged part of combat aviation for decades since WWII. This changed in 2017, when the Ministry of Defense signed a decree authorizing female cadets to enroll in flight schools and academies (BBC, 2017). However, only a small percentage of them were able to achieve active service after graduation from the academies.
The exception to the rule is Svetlana Kapanina, who became the record-breaking aerobatic pilot. In addition, she constantly condemns the existing patriarchal state of things in the aviation industry and the lack of proper support for females that men receive on a regular basis.
In the United States, women account for about five percent of the commercial flight pilot industry and about a similar percentage in the U.S. Air Force. Women who occupy leading positions are even rarer to find. The main problems that put sticks in the wheels of female pilots are imbalances in juggling work and personal life issues, that is: family, discrimination in the workplace based on gender; as well as a lack of female mentors, whose success could inspire the rest of the community. Most of the famous personalities in the field of aviation are men (Aqela Nussrat, 2024).
Women continue their struggle in the aviation industry for respect and equality in educational institutions, recruitment/employment, and the workplace. Despite the fact that the airway is free, this does not mean that flying in pursuit of respect and equality will be devoid of turbulence due to air holes.
Bibliography:
Russia to train female fighter pilots. (2017). BBC News. [online] 13 Aug. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40917550.
RT (2011). Interview on Russia Today (RT). Svetlana Kapanina. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8an5Se4Q0c [Accessed 27 Mar. 2025].
Nussrat, Aqela, "Against the Wind: Exploring Gender Disparities & Barriers Women Face in Aviation" (2024). Senior Projects Spring 2024. 209.
ICAO Aviation Data Analytics (2023). Regional Personnel By Gender Analysis. Available at: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/icaodataanalytics/viz/RegionalPersonnelByGenderAnalysis/PersonnelbyGender [Accessed 27 Mar. 2025].
Why Aren’t There Many Female Commercial Pilots? (2016). Today I Found Out. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWU4Ev7Qia0 [Accessed 27 Mar. 2025].
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