Advocacy Archives | Institute for Women Of Aviation Worldwide (iWOAW)

After a nearly 80-year hiatus, Russian women can be fighter pilots and aircraft technicians again

August 12, 2021August 11, 2021

On August 10, 1911, Lidia Zvereva became the first woman in Russia to hold a pilot licence and Russia became the fourth country in the world to count a licenced female pilot. In 1913, she became the world’s second woman to run an aircraft manufacturing plant and, one year later, the first woman to fly an aerobatic maneuver, the loop. Russian women remained on the forefront of the air and space industry. Eugenie Shakhovskaya became …

FAA medical certificate airman signature

Drone committee concurs with iWOAW and urges the FAA to adopt gender neutral language

July 19, 2021June 26, 2021

Since 2016, iWOAW has been a relentless and vocal advocate for removing verbal barriers to women inclusion in the air and space industry. That year, while the U.S. Marines were implementing gender-neutral personnel titles to diversify recruitment, the FAA was busy replacing Practical Test Standards with Airman Certification Standards. The Drone Advisory Committee sees the switch to gender neutral terminology as a step towards “modeling the leadership and behaviors that will build a more inclusive …

Sexist airline registration practices cause an aircraft incident

April 15, 2021April 12, 2021

Last July, the B737-800 pilots of a TUI Airways flight to Palma de Mallorca noticed discrepancies between the load sheet and the flight plan. On the load sheet, the take-off weight was 1600 kg less than the estimate on the flight plan and the passenger count indicated 38 more children than planned. After discussion, the crew decided to use the load sheet instead of the flight plan data to set the flight management system. As …

Gender gap in aviation at the U.S. Senate

U.S. Senate Calls to Address the Gender Gap in Aviation During the Week of March 8

March 23, 2021March 15, 2021

On March 4, 2021, Sen. Jacky Rosen [D-NV] introduced S.Res.96 to designate the week of March 8 to 14, 2021, as Women Of Aviation Workforce Week. The bi-partisan resolution was co-sponsored by Mr. Moran, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Marshall, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Wicker, and Ms. Klobuchar. The Resolution was agreed to in Senate without amendment and an amended preamble by Unanimous Consent (text: CR …

Women can help build a better air and space industry post-Covid – if we invite them

March 1, 2021February 13, 2021

One year after Covid19 began racing across the world, wiping out lives and jobs, it might be surprising to advocate that promoting aviation and space opportunities to women and girls during Women Of Aviation Week 2021 is more important than ever. More women than men are looking for a new career path Statistics show that more women than men lost their jobs due to Covid19 – not just in the industry, everywhere. That means that …