Rolland Vincent

It is often said that stereotypes don’t die. To be fair, it is probably more accurate to say that stereotypes&nbsp;don’t die easily. Stereotypes can sometimes seem equivalent to the nature of things.&nbsp;Something is the way it is because it has always been this way – there is no changing, and no need to change it.&nbsp;According to the Oxford Dictionary, a stereotype is “a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.” Curiously,&nbsp;the word “stereotype” has its origins in the early 19th-century printing business, where a stereotype plate was used to replicate typeset words.
One stereotype that seems to have the half-life of uranium-238 is that men and women perform best in certain jobs.&nbsp;For example, some believe that men are more suited to technical and mechanical fields, where strength and stamina provide comparative advantages.&nbsp;Others believe that women are better suited to nurturing and educational roles in society, where interpersonal skills and empathy are essential enablers of success. While there may be some elements of logic to each of these stereotypes, are they true?&nbsp;What exactly might that even mean, and why is it important for business aviation?&nbsp;
In aviation, a technology-centric and traditionally white male-dominated industry, it has largely been “fact” or “reality” that most key roles have been performed by men.&nbsp;In many organizations today and certainly in the past, it is quite commonplace to be in a room, a hangar, or an aircraft where most of the “real jobs” were being performed by men.&nbsp;For most of the 116-year history of “manned” powered flight, the aviation industry has been mostly powered, piloted, and promoted by men.&nbsp;Wilbur and Orville Wright leveraged their skills as Dayton, Ohio&nbsp;bicycle designers and mechanics to create a successful wing-warping glider, and then a wind tunnel, and, with key contributions by the talented mechanic and self-taught engineer Charles Taylor, a lightweight engine that would eventually take them aloft. Charles Rolls and Henry Royce started out in the automobile industry and designed early aero-engines, two of which eventually powered John Alcock and Arthur Brown eastbound on the first nonstop transatlantic flight 100 years ago.
The early days of aviation were filled with the likes of Otto Lilienthal, Octave Chanute, Louis&nbsp;Blériot, and Alberto Santos-Dumont, each a pioneer in their own right.&nbsp;Across Europe, the likes of Marcel Bloch, Anton Fokker, Geoffrey de Havilland, Frank Whittle, Harry Hawker, Willy Messerschmitt, and Hugo Junkers were at the forefront of discoveries and technological evolutions that shifted a nascent industry ever faster and ever higher. Across the Atlantic, the peaceful and empty skies above America were the testing grounds for people like Igor Sikorsky, William Boeing, Clyde Cessna, Donald Douglas, Charles Lindbergh, Howard Hughes, Elrey Jeppesen, Dwayne Wallace, and Walter Beech, all of whom pioneered the ways aircraft were designed, built, and flown.&nbsp;
Later, innovators and inventors including Bill Lear, Burt Rutan, Sam Williams, Gary Burrell, Min Kao, and the Klapmeier brothers pushed the boundaries of the industry further outwards, bringing business and general aviation aircraft and technologies to a broad base of customers.&nbsp;Historically speaking, aviation’s runways, factories, and airways have been largely established by men gifted with passion, purpose, and persistence.
Easy to overlook in the “truth” of aviation history is the role that women have played.&nbsp;Some of the earliest aviators were women, but most of their names are little known except to aviation historians. France’s Raymonde de Laroche was the world’s first female pilot, earning her stripes in 1910.&nbsp;Canada’s Elsie MacGill was the first woman to earn a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering.&nbsp;America’s Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and during World War II, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) were employed as test pilots and ferried many aircraft across oceans to war zones. Olive Ann Beech was the co-founder of Beech Aircraft Company&nbsp;and its president and CEO from 1950.
Today, the journey for women at the top of the aerospace industry continues with Kathy Warden (Northrop Grumman), Marillyn Hewson (Lockheed Martin), Phebe Novakovic (General Dynamics), and Leanne Caret (Boeing Defense, Space, and Security) leading their respective organizations. Never to be forgotten, where would any of us be without Rosie the Riveter, a cultural icon and an image of backbreaking hard work, tenacity, and productivity that helped turn the tide of World War II?&nbsp;
Business aviation’s talent shortage is being felt across much of the industry today, as skilled people look&nbsp;for the best return on investment when it comes to where they want to spend their careers.&nbsp;Isn’t it a shame that we have collectively and probably individually not yet done enough to make the industry more diverse, inclusive, safe, and fascinating for the other half of the world?&nbsp;
I recently attended the International Aviation Women's Association GA conference in Napa, California&nbsp;and was fascinated to hear about one person’s aviation career journey.&nbsp;Kimberly Perkins is&nbsp;an ATP-rated pilot who commands a large, ultra-long-range business jet on behalf of one of the world’s largest publicly traded companies. With an impressive resume of aviation and educational credentials, she is an inspiration to many who meet her, especially when they learn that, beyond her busy professional and personal life, she has created a nonprofit (<a href="http://www.aviationforhumanity.org">www.aviationforhumanity.org</a>) to deliver school supplies and other donations to young school children in need across the world.&nbsp;Aviation is an industry that helps open our eyes to the truth that is out there; Captain Perkins helps those who are paying attention to realize that we can be the change we want to see in the world. (Editor's note: Kimberly Perkins writes about diversity issues in aviation, including these articles published by AIN: "<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2018-03-14/how-industry-could-attract-more-women-flight-deck">How industry could attract more women to the flight deck</a>," and "<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2019-04-26/other-voices-its-time-we-all-support-gender-parity">It's time we all support gender parity</a>."
Although aviation—general and business aviation in particular—remains a “good ol’ boys club,” the times are changing.&nbsp;Fresh perspectives and ideas, like flowers in Spring, are everywhere, helping us navigate toward&nbsp;a better and more inclusive future, one where we break down stereotypes and open up the skies above us to a world of possibilities.

News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.

AINsight: More Women Finding a Place in Aviation

Attracting more women could go a long way to addressing the industry's labor shortage.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charles Alcock

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Four-decade career in aviation journalism culminated in leading AIN’s editorial team

AIN Editor-in-chief Matt Thurber To Retire in October

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Essential news and analysis on the defense aerospace business. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs and requirements in military aircraft (manned and unmanned), engines, avionics, weapons and associated systems, including ground-based air defense.

The Dutch air force will receive eight of the two-seaters in 2027

Pilatus PC-7 MKX Basic Trainer Makes First Flight

Matt Thurber

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Why not teach new pilots to go around before learning how to land?

AINsight: You Can (and Should) Always Go Around

Kerry Lynch

Most major manufacturers will be at static this year

NBAA-BACE Taking Shape with Expanded Program, Most OEMs

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

First step toward licensing could encourage youth to seek aviation careers

GAO Wants High Schoolers To Take Mechanic General Test

Charlotte Bailey

Evolving AI-augmented simulator-based approach to ‘gamify’ learning 

Saab Shaking Up Gripen Training with Project Skynapse 

Howard Hardee

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

More In Training and Workforce

AIN Editor-in-chief Matt Thurber To Retire in October

Four-decade career in aviation journalism culminated in leading AIN’s editorial team

Pilatus PC-7 MKX Basic Trainer Makes First Flight

The Dutch air force will receive eight of the two-seaters in 2027

AINsight: You Can (and Should) Always Go Around

Why not teach new pilots to go around before learning how to land?

NBAA-BACE Taking Shape with Expanded Program, Most OEMs

Most major manufacturers will be at static this year

GAO Wants High Schoolers To Take Mechanic General Test

First step toward licensing could encourage youth to seek aviation careers

Saab Shaking Up Gripen Training with Project Skynapse

Evolving AI-augmented simulator-based approach to ‘gamify’ learning

Cutting 'Traveled Work' Delays At Spirit Critical To 737 Output

Spirit AeroSystems workers give Leeham News and Analysis the inside track

People in Aviation —September 2026

Michel Denis was named CEO of Daher, Steve Varsano president of Flexjet, and Robert Sumwalt was the next Wright Trophy recipient

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN