Training and Workforce
Given the Opportunity, Women Could Fill Aerospace Skills Gap
Companies are investing in multi-pronged efforts to boost female involvement in engineering, but women still account for around one-fifth of the total.
Sophie Chittim
Rolls-Royce lead engineer for fuel cells and energy storage systems Sophie Chittim (Photo: David McIntosh)

The aerospace and defense industries suffer from a widely acknowledged skills deficit due to the struggle to recruit and retain talent—all the more reason then, over and above social equity considerations, to make it clear to 50 percent of the world’s population that the door is wide open to women.

This Friday is International Women in Engineering Day, giving pause to the aviation sector to consider whether it is on the right path. AIN surveyed 20 of the industry’s leading companies and the overriding conclusion was that progress has been made, but there is some way to go, with just under one-fifth of engineering positions typically filled by women at a time when the gender ratio for the overall workforce is generally closer to a quarter.