WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), both members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, released the following statements after introducing a bipartisan resolution honoring women in the aviation industry, celebrating America’s aviation workforce, committing the Senate to helping increase aviation workforce and other STEM job opportunities for women, and designating March 8 through March 14, 2021 as “Women of the Aviation Workforce Week.”
“Women make up half of the workforce in America, yet still only hold a small fraction of the jobs in aviation industries,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan resolution during Women’s History Month to encourage more women to enter the aviation workforce to meet the needs of this growing sector, while also working to increase diversity in these high-demand fields. I will continue working on forward-thinking legislation to encourage more women to take an interest in STEM careers to ensure that we have a workforce equipped with the tools necessary to succeed in the 21st century.”
“The most famous woman in aviation—Amelia Earhart—grew up in Atchison, Kansas,” said Senator Moran. “She set flight records, broke barriers and led the way for thousands of women to pursue careers in aviation as engineers, flight crew members, air traffic controllers and pilots. However, women still make up less than eight percent of our pilots and a small percentage of aeronautical engineers in the U.S. To address this disparity, we established an advisory board at the FAA that aims to support women in aviation and better meet the growing demand for workers in the industry. As more women pursue careers in aviation, I’m proud to join my colleagues in sponsoring this resolution to recognize Women of the Aviation Workforce Week.”
BACKGROUND: Read the full resolution here.
March 8th-14th is internationally known as “Women of Aviation Worldwide Week”, a global initiative to raise awareness of the gender gap in the air and space industry.
More specifically, the resolution (S.Res.96):
- Designates March 8-14, 2021, as “Women of the Aviation Workforce Week”;
- Raises awareness to the gender gap in this important industry;
- Celebrates women and girls who have chosen aviation as their career path as well as female aviators who are trailblazers in the industry;
- Honors women in aviation, highlights travel and tourism workforce needs, and promotes women and girls in STEM careers;
- Raises awareness about STEM jobs (civil engineering, air traffic controllers, maintenance, and pilots), specifically for women and girls;
- Encourages educational and training institutions to recruit women to join the aviation workforce;
- Encourages employers in the aviation industry to hire a diverse workforce, including women, veterans, and other underrepresented individuals;
- Commits the Senate to taking action to address the gender gap in air and space jobs and in STEM fields more broadly.
Globally:
- Less than 3% of commercial pilots are female;
- Less than 2% of the world’s aircraft maintenance technicians and;
- Less than 10% of all working aeronautical engineers are women
Nationally, the FAA reported that
- Less than 8% of existing commercial pilots are women;
- Only 26% of air traffic controllers are women although women make up roughly 30% of the aviation workforce (203,725 individuals)—flight attendants comprise the majority of this group (183,519 individuals).
The aviation industry is anticipating a significant shortage of skilled professionals in the coming years. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) reported that by 2026, we will need 480,000 new technicians to maintain new aircrafts and over 350,000 additional pilots.
This bipartisan resolution is endorsed by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the Airline Pilot Association (ALPA).
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