Is it?

I’ve been doing a great deal of thinking lately around issues of diversity and inclusion in the aviation industry. Recently I was humbled to be recognized for my efforts with two different awards. One was from the College of Engineering, the Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion award, and the second was from The Ohio State University, the Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award. Both were awarded because of my efforts to change the way we think about aviation education and the low numbers of women, LGBTQ+, and people of color, flying planes, and generally working in the industry. I am really honored and proud of these two awards, it is always a nice feeling to be supported and honored for doing work that is trying to push boundaries. However, I know there is so much more work that needs to be done and trying to figure out ‘what’s next’ has been a bit of a struggle.

Most of us have heard by now, about the incident with Southwest Airlines, and the loss of the engine which required an emergency landing. What less people have observed, is the ways in which this story was first reported. In fact, CNN had to do a story on the reasons why her being a female didn’t matter. In 2018, there are still stories about how women, and particularly women of color are treated as pilots. Many are presumed to be flight attendants (also problematic, but for another blog), and their competency is often challenged. Why is this?

Many of us rarely challenge who creates and who exhibits ‘knowledge.’ In this particular case, it was difficult for many to see Captain Shults as the authority figure on the flight deck, capable of making important, life-altering, decisions. Society’s confusion over this is hardly new and/or surprising. Much of society’s problem with seeing women, women of color, or individuals who identify as female, in particular roles, has to do with who we see as creating and producing valuable knowledge. For instance, I recently created an end of course survey that asked students if their instructor included in the course, (academic) perspectives that was created by women, people of color, LGBTQ+, and international scholars. Unsurprising were the number of students who responded with an “N/A” or “why does this matter?”

It matters because, valuing academic research, or knowledge production by underrepresented groups, is in many ways deeply connected to how society still views their larger role within society. In the same way that a black woman can’t possibly be an academic researcher, she also isn’t ‘seen’ with four stripes, in the left seat of an aircraft. If we don’t challenge our preconceived notions about who creates and develops knowledge, then we are going to continue to need articles that talk about why it shouldn’t matter that Captain Shults is a woman, flying an airplane.

While I  think there are many valuable efforts going on, to improve the diversity of the industry, I think deeper, more structural changes are necessary in order to continue to find success. Some of the barriers will be the fact that society still has a long way to go itself. But, I am in it for the long haul, and I hope you are too!

Safe Travels!

February was a hectic month for me, but also very rewarding. I had the opportunity to be a part of two different conversations around Diversity and Inclusion in the Aviation Industry. Both events were incredibly well organized with thoughtful conversations and motivation to keep moving the needle forward!

First, from February 6^th-9^th I was able to attend the National Gay Pilots Association (NGPA) Diversity and Inclusion Summit. This was an event that was tailor made for colleges and universities with aviation programs and management level individuals with various air carriers and companies. The conference itself provided amazing guest speakers who could share their stories and perspective, but also sessions that provided insight into how to handle, respond, and work through a variety of issues concerning the LGBTQ+ community.

I had the opportunity to be a part of a panel discussion that involved other university aviation programs. The focus of our conversation was around the work that universities are currently doing-and what still needs done. One of the most interesting realizations to come from that meeting, was the necessity to help our flight instructors become more knowledgeable and trained around issues concerning the LGBTQ+ community.

Later in the month I also attended the Aviation Accreditation Board, International (AABI) Winter Meeting. This organization also hosted a Diversity in the Workplace panel that I was invited to be on. Since this audience was primarily individuals from colleges and universities, a great deal of the focus was on what methods institutions could be using to improve on their own diversity and inclusion efforts. Again, I was so impressed with how thoughtful the conversation was. Naturally, for many people, talking about diversity and inclusion can be challenging, because we often don’t know what kinds of questions to ask, or how to ask them, but in this instance, I was so pleased with how open-minded folks were to having difficult conversations.

Overall February was a great month, and I am so happy that more and more people are talking about these issues. It is no longer enough to have a boiler-plate diversity statement, our industry needs to take charge of moving these efforts forward!

When I was a young girl, Barbie wasn’t much more than a doll for young girls to play dress-up with. Sure there were Barbies that were trying to be adventurous (my favorite was the 90’s Ice Capades version), but generally speaking, Barbie was a doll meant to make “pretty,” and pursue traditional female pursuits.

Fast forward to 2017. Enter STEM Barbie.

As a relatively new Barbie on the shelves, she stirred up quite the conversation. She comes with a STEM kit, full of experiments that engage young girls with science, math, technology, and engineering. She is wearing a lab coat, and has goggles (albeit, with a swanky mini skirt). The reviews of her are everything from “why is she wearing a mini skirt if she is supposedly working in a lab?” to “why is her STEM activity to build a spinning clothes rack?” It’s not that these questions aren’t important, but they speak to a larger question when it comes to how we engage young women in science and tech. Does it really matter if Barbie is building a clothes rack, rather than, say, rebuilding an engine? For some young girls, this is a way to get them engaged through a kind of play that they are familiar with. In the same way that pink Legos, perhaps, shouldn’t be the end of the world, maybe STEM Barbie isn’t either. Since STEM fields have been dominated by men for so long, and the encouragement of young men to pursue the field so normalized, it is a struggle to think of how we might engage girls. Our engagement with them doesn’t necessarily need to look the same as it does with boys. I think there is something to be said for allowing young women to engage with the STEM field using whatever they happened to be interested in-and not being critical of that if it doesn’t follow the pattern of how we encourage boys.

So what IS my problem with STEM Barbie?

I think this doll represents a challenge I see that we face in the aviation industry, which is a way to have meaningful conversations about the role of women and other underrepresented groups in the industry. In the ways that the media might celebrate the creation of STEM Barbie, right now it’s fashionable for air carriers to leverage “Black History Month,” or “Women’s History Month,” to celebrate the ‘all female flights,’ or the first black female airline captain (I don’t intend to call out any specific carrier, just do a quick google search, and they are readily available). I am GLAD we celebrate these women and African Americans, I am THRILLED that the industry is making a much more conscientious effort to promote diverse individuals in the industry. But now is not the time to pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. There is work to be done and it has to go much further than an all-female crew or the first STEM Barbie.

What do we change? How do we address both the need to celebrate the advancements we have made, without overshadowing the work that still needs done? I don’t know that I have any answers for this yet, I am still trying to work through my own thoughts on these issues. What I can say is this, don’t get lazy. Rejoice in the good work that has been done, and is being done, but keep pushing the boundaries and asking for more. That is the only way we will see the change we want to see.

Safe Travels!

Shannon

Can’t we just hire the most qualified, competent aviation professionals?

The short answer is no. At least we certainly haven’t been.

In the United States of American, as of 2013, the total number of African American pilots remained under 700, less than 20 of which were African American women. Women, both white and women of color, are equally underrepresented, with only 5.6% of ATP certificate holders being women. And this number doesn’t represent the number of women actually flying as pilots in the industry.

I don’t believe there are only 700 African Americans with the potential to be qualified to fly for a major airline.

So, why blog about it at all? Honestly, the conversation needs to happen and voices that aren’t normally heard need to be given a platform to share their ideas. Hence, the purpose of this blog.

It is my intent to share stories, ideas, and news about how diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts are impacting the aviation industry. I invite students, alumni, and industry to be a part of the conversation. The purpose is to create a space for authentic (respectful) conversations to occur. To generate new ideas and approaches to tackling this issue. The aviation industry is one of the most powerful in the world, diversifying the workforce generates creativity and ingenuity. Let’s talk about it!

Welcome aboard! And until next time! Safe travels!

Shannon