Jaideep Mirchandani | Middle East Businessman | Sky One

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WOMEN PILOTS BRIDGE THE TALENT GAP IN INDIAS
AVIATION, SHOWING THE PATH TO OTHER COUNTRIES
As the demand for commercial pilots increases,
countries across the world can learn from Indias
effort to support women pilots and elevate their
aviation sector.
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INTRODUCTION
On 10th Jan 2021, an all-women cockpit crew
recorded the worlds longest flight for over 17
hours, the commendable feat was celebrated
globally, cementing Indias position as the
country with the most women pilots. With over
1,200 women pilots, according to the Directorate
General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), women make up
over 12 percent of all pilots in India, more than
double compared to the US, the worlds largest
aviation market. While the industry faces a
worldwide shortage of qualified pilots and
numerous agencies cite the need to hire thousands
of new pilots to handle the demand over the next
two decades, countries must learn from Indias
successful efforts. CAE Inc. (Canadian
manufacturer of simulation and modeling
technologies) indicated that the next decade will
require 284,000 new pilots, which cannot be
accomplished without greater women participation
in the field. However, to replicate Indias model
a synergy of government-backed initiatives,
multiple professional mentoring groups and
employment incentives is needed to attract, train
and retain women in aviation.
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Indian Governments initiatives like Women in
Aviation, launched in 2018, focussed on
increasing awareness of the industry, promoting
gender diversity and providing scholarships and
mentoring programmes. Indian Women Pilots
Association (IWPA) also provides a platform to
encourage careers in aviation by networking,
training and supporting the professionals. One
crucial factor supporting the women is the
inclusivity-embracing work culture at Indian
commercial airlines. Domestic airlines offer
flexibility to women pilots and crew to work
safely during pregnancy and offer paid maternity
leave as well as creche fees. Indian authorities
provide financial incentives for airlines with a
significant representation of female pilots.
These incentives encompass decreased landing and
parking fees, along with the allocation of
supplementary time slots at airports.
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The role of women pilots in Indian Airlines is
crucial to the sectors expansion and the future
is bright for women to leave their mark in
engineering and technical roles as well. At Pier
Seven Aviation more than half the queries
received are from women and since its inception,
each batch has seen equal participation from
women pilots. Inspirational pilots like Captain
Aarohi Pandit, who set the record as the first
woman worldwide to successfully cross the
Atlantic Ocean solo in a Light Sports Aircraft
(LSA), she has earned her commercial pilot and
will soon join a leading Airline. While we
applaud the change, we must recognize and resolve
the challenges of discrimination and lack of
work-life balance that might arise. Recently DGCA
set up a four-member committee to offer
suggestions for achieving gender equality in
Indias aviation sector. This initiative also
encouraged stakeholders to collaboratively
promote participation of women and achieve the
aspirational goal of 50-50 ratio by 2030 at all
professional and higher levels of employment in
aviation.
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CONCLUSION
To ensure that aviation grows sustainably to meet
the rising demand, an active effort should be
made to incorporate womens participation across
all aspects of the operational landscape from
engineering to communications and operations.
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