Looking to recruit more women pilots, airlines push a discrimination narrative while ignoring more likely explanations for gender disparities in aviation.
United Airlines recently announced that at least 50 percent of its future pilots will be women and people of color. United’s new diversity initiative includes partnerships with major corporations such as JPMorgan Chase, which is matching United’s own $1.2 million commitment in scholarships for minority pilots. Breaking down “financial barriers” will, United CEO Scott Kirby says, “diversify our pilot ranks and create new opportunities for thousands of women and people of color who want to pursue a career in aviation.” The effort will involve recruiting 5,000 “diverse” pilots over the next ten years, which seems attainable. But the task will be more complicated, since competition to attract minorities will be intense. And it is not clear that the recruitment of one group in particular—women—will pay off.
