Current Statistics of Women in Aviation Careers in U.S.

Women in Aviation: The Stats

Women have been involved in aviation since its earliest days. From E. Lillian Todd, who designed and built aircraft in 1906 to Helen Richey, who became the first woman pilot for a U.S. commercial airline in 1934, women have assumed a variety of roles in the industry. At the close of the 20th century, astronaut Eileen Collins became the first female space shuttle commander.

During the last two decades, the number of women involved in the aviation industry has steadily increased and women can be found in nearly every aviation occupation today. However, the numbers are small by comparison. Women pilots, for example, represent only six percent of the total pilot population.

At the first Annual International Women in Aviation Conference in 1990, participants recognized the need for more women in the industry and for a support group to serve as mentors, advisors and interested colleagues. Following a number of successful conferences, Women in Aviation International (WAI) was established as a professional, non-profit organization in 1994 to address those needs.

Today, WAI has more than 15,000 members worldwide, including aviation professionals, students and enthusiasts. Women and men from all segments of the industry, including general, corporate and commercial aviation, education, government and the military, are eligible for WAI membership.

Due to a strong commitment in promoting women in the aviation industry, WAI has gained wide recognition. This recognition is evident from partnerships with NASA, the FAA and other organizations.

Pilots
Source: FAA's Aeronautical Center (December 31st, 2020 data)

All		Women
691,691	Pilots (total)	58,541	8.4%
222,629	Students	31,687	14.2%
105	Recreational	6	5.7%
6,643	Sport	259	3.9%
160,860	Private*	11,316	6.6%
103,879	Commercial*	7,724	7.0%
164,193	Airline Transport*	7,549	4.6%
13,629	Rotorcraft (only)	NA	NA
19,753	Glider (only)	NA	NA
117,558	Flight Instructors**	8,592	7.3%
206,322	Remote Pilots***	14,882	7.2%

* Includes pilots with an airplane only certificate. Also includes those with an airplane and a helicopter and/or glider certificate. For example, if a pilot holds a private airplane certificate and a commercial helicopter certificate, the pilot would be categorized as commercial.
** Not included in total pilots.
***Remote pilot certification started in August 2016. These numbers are not included in the pilot totals.

Non-Pilots
Source: FAA's Aeronautical Center (December 31st, 2020 data)

All		Women
724,307	NonPilot (total)	218,964	30.2%
306,301	Mechanic*	7,860	2.6%
36,741	Repairmen*	1,995	5.4%
7,014	Parachute Rigger*	711	10.1%
71,991	Ground Instructor*	5,603	7.8%
23,286	Dispatcher*	4,586	19.7%
36	Flight Navigator	0
248,742	Flight Attendant	196,902	79.2%
30,196	Flight Engineer	1,307	4.3%
* Numbers represent all certificates on record. No medical examination required.

Pilots (Women)
Source: FAA's Aeronautical Center (December 31st, 2020 data)

	2020		2019		2018		2017		2016		2015		2014		2013		2012		2011		2010		2009		2008		2007		2006		2005		2004		2003		2002		2001		2000
Student (1)	31,687	14.2%	27,255	13.8%	22,266	13.3%	19,219	9.8%	15,971	12.43%	14,580	11.88%	14,369	11.95%	14,405	11.98%	14,643	12.21%	14,683	12.37%	14,767	12.40%	8,450	11.69%	9,127	11.27%	9,559	11.33%	9,640	11.36%	9,717	11.14%	9,857	11.21%	9,897	11.34%	10,082	11.72%	10,230	11.80%	10,809	11.61%
Recreational	6	5.7%	7	5.5%	10	6.9%	14	10.5%	15	8.57%	16	8.42%	16	6.72%	17	7.14%	16	7.34%	18	7.93%	12	5.66%	13	5.56%	20	7.94%	17	7.11%	17	7.11%	20	7.19%	21	7.22%	24	7.74%	23	7.26%	20	6.33%	26	7.65%
Sport	259	3.9%	254	3.9%	240	3.8%	229	3.5%	223	3.79%	211	3.85%	192	3.98%	174	3.61%	152	3.38%	135	3.32%	118	3.20%	98	3.02%	79	3.01%	64	3.15%	26	2.77%	7	5.22%	NA		NA		NA		NA		NA
Private	11,316	6.6%	10,683	6.6%	10,255	6.3%	9,971	7.0%	10,009	6.17%	11,339	6.64%	11,652	6.47%	11,909	6.61%	12,456	6.63%	12,927	6.65%	13,566	6.72%	14,322	6.77%	15,015	6.75%	13,694	6.49%	14,111	6.44%	14,517	6.35%	15,036	6.37%	15,487	6.42%	15,906	6.49%	13,894	5.70%	14,554	5.79%
Commercial	7,724	7.0%	7,038	7.0%	6,556	6.6%	6,267	6.7%	6,081	6.33%	6,587	6.51%	6,685	6.18%	6,911	6.39%	7,536	6.47%	7,956	6.58%	8,175	6.61%	8,289	6.59%	8,083	6.48%	7,101	6.17%	7,236	6.15%	7,315	6.06%	7,421	6.05%	7,436	6.00%	7,454	5.92%	5,932	4.92%	5,807	4.77%
Airline Transport	7,549	4.6%	7,503	4.5%	7,136	4.4%	6,994	4.1%	6,888	4.36%	6,554	4.24%	6,408	4.28%	6,205	4.14%	5,818	4.00%	5,597	3.93%	5,580	3.92%	5,636	3.90%	5,657	3.85%	5,349	3.72%	5,071	3.57%	5,008	3.53%	4,908	3.45%	4,850	3.38%	4,792	3.31%	4,630	3.20%	4,411	3.12%
Flight Instructor (2)	8,592	7.3%	7,957	7.0%	7,335	6.8%	7,105	6.3%	6,848	6.56%	6,669	6.50%	6,521	6.60%	6,386	6.46%	6,371	6.48%	6,350	6.52%	6,359	6.59%	6,362	6.71%	6,293	6.75%	6,232	6.76%	6,158	6.74%	6,067	6.70%	5,970	6.66%	5,811	6.62%	5,667	6.58%	5,386	6.50%	5,193	6.42%
Remote Pilots (3)	14,882	7.2%	10,818	6.7%	6,188	5.8%	3,462	48.7%	793	3.89%	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Total	58,541	8.4%	52,740	7.9%	46,463	7.3%	42,694	6.8%	39,187	6.71%	39,287	6.66%	39,322	6.56%	39,621	6.61%	40,621	6.65%	41,316	6.69%	42,218	6.73%	36,808	6.19%	37,981	6.19%	35,784	6.06%	36,101	6.05%	36,584	6.00%	37,243	6.02%	37,694	6.03%	38,257	6.06%	34,706	5.67%	35,607	5.69%
(1) July 2010, validity increased under age 40 from 36 to 60 months.
(2) Not included in total pilots.
(3) Remote pilot certification started in August 2016. These numbers are not included in the pilot totals.

Pilots (Men and Women)
Source: FAA's Aeronautical Center (December 31st, 2020 data)

	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000
Student (1)	222,629	197,665	167,804	149,121	128,501	122,729	120,546	120,285	119,946	118,657	119,119	72,280	80,989	84,339	84,866	87,213	87,910	87,296	85,991	86,731	93,064
Recreational	105	127	144	153	175	190	220	238	218	227	212	234	252	239	239	278	291	310	317	316	340
Sport	6,643	6,467	6,246	6,097	5,889	5,482	5,157	4,824	4,493	4,066	3,682	3,248	2,623	2,031	939	134	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Private	160,860	161,105	163,145	162,455	162,313	170,718	174,883	180,214	188,001	194,441	202,020	211,619	222,596	211,096	219,233	228,619	235,994	241,045	245,230	243,823	251,561
Commercial	103,897	100,863	99,880	98,161	96,081	101,164	104,322	108,206	116,400	120,865	123,705	125,738	124,746	115,127	117,610	120,614	122,592	123,990	125,920	120,502	121,858
Airline Transport	164,193	164,974	162,145	159,825	157,894	154,730	152,933	149,824	145,590	142,511	142,198	144,600	146,838	143,953	141,935	141,992	142,160	143,504	144,708	144,702	141,596
Rotorcraft (only)	13,629	14,248	15,033	15,355	15,518	15,566	15,511	15,114	15,126	15,220	15,377	15,298	14,647	12,290	10,690	9,518	8,586	7,916	7,770	7,727	7,775
Glider (only)	19,753	19,143	18,370	18,139	17,991	19,460	19,927	20,381	20,802	21,141	21,275	21,268	21,055	21,274	21,597	21,369	21,100	20,950	21,826	8,473	9,387
Flight Instructor (2)	117,558	113,445	108,564	106,692	104,382	102,628	100,993	98,842	98,328	97,409	96,473	94,863	93,202	92,175	91,343	90,555	89,596	87,816	86,089	82,875	80,931
Remote Pilots (3)	206,322	160,302	106,321	69,166	20,362	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Total	691,691	664,565	633,317	609,306	584,362	590,039	593,499	599,086	610,576	617,128	627,588	594,285	613,746	590,349	597,109	609,737	618,633	625,011	631,762	612,274	625,581
(1) July 2010, validity increased under age 40 from 36 to 60 months.
(2) Not included in total pilots.
(3) Remote pilot certification started in August 2016. These numbers are not included in the pilot totals.

Non-Pilot (Women)
Source: FAA's Aeronautical Center (December 31st, 2020 data)

	2020		2019		2018		2017		2016		2015		2014		2013		2012		2011		2010		2009		2008		2007		2006		2005		2004		2003		2002		2001		2000
NonPilot (total)	218,964	30.2%	215,905	30.2%	203,725	29.6%	195,993	27.3%	187,914	28.78%	183,259	25.54%	174,000	24.81%	166,294	23.52%	160,452	22.88%	155,918	22.42%	150,019	21.85%	147,052	21.55%	144,968	21.38%	138,452	20.77%	128,192	19.53%	119,850	18.61%	18,666	3.62%	18,030	3.54%	17,612	3.42%	17,114	3.34%	16,552	3.02%
Mechanic*	7,860	2.6%	7,573	2.5%	7,133	2.4%	6,855	2.9%	6,536	2.34%	8,419	2.47%	8,151	2.41%	7,917	2.34%	7,729	2.29%	7,487	2.23%	7,215	2.17%	6,980	2.12%	6,740	2.07%	6,524	2.02%	6,345	1.96%	6,152	1.92%	5,932	1.87%	5,734	1.83%	5,559	1.76%	5,295	1.70%	5,047	1.47%
Repairmen*	1,995	5.4%	1,996	5.5%	1,868	5.3%	1,847	6.5%	1,822	5.29%	2,289	5.79%	2,278	5.63%	2,288	5.73%	2,307	5.70%	2,278	5.58%	2,312	5.60%	2,335	5.64%	2,284	5.56%	2,193	5.44%	2,180	5.41%	2,108	5.27%	2,039	5.20%	1,800	4.83%	1,722	4.64%	1,789	4.46%	1,704	4.46%
Parachute Rigger*	711	10.1%	681	10.0%	631	9.8%	597	13.1%	540	9.23%	811	9.32%	763	9.00%	712	8.39%	697	8.23%	683	8.04%	655	7.79%	633	7.57%	615	7.46%	594	7.26%	584	7.08%	556	6.82%	540	6.74%	521	6.61%	500	6.20%	475	5.99%	509	4.86%
Ground Instructor*	5,603	7.8%	5,340	7.6%	5,085	2.1%	4,924	2.4%	4,772	7.34%	5,907	8.23%	5,889	8.00%	5,869	8.10%	5,853	7.95%	5,880	7.88%	5,894	7.84%	5,860	7.77%	5,785	7.72%	5,726	7.68%	5,669	7.57%	5,612	7.55%	5,500	7.46%	5,385	7.41%	5,321	7.22%	5,169	7.15%	5,154	7.13%
Dispatcher*	4,586	19.7%	4,389	19.4%	4,086	19.0%	3,867	21.8%	3,615	18.30%	4,503	19.48%	4,326	19.79%	4,115	18.37%	3,930	17.98%	3,744	17.53%	3,530	17.06%	3,381	16.79%	3,230	16.49%	3,087	16.21%	2,934	15.77%	2,805	15.52%	2,647	15.13%	2,520	14.86%	2,410	14.44%	2,262	14.08%	2,062	12.62%
Flight Navigator	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1.49%	1	0.87%	1	0.71%	1	0.79%	1	0.71%	1	0.68%	1	0.57%	1	0.55%	1	0.45%	1	0.40%	1	0.38%	1	0.34%	1	0.30%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%
Flight Attendant**	196,902	79.2%	194,578	79.2%	183,519	79.3%	176,471	71.9%	169,170	79.57%	159,703	84.53%	150,941	87.57%	143,701	80.04%	138,223	80.20%	134,114	80.29%	128,646	80.43%	126,034	80.41%	124,419	80.44%	118,426	80.55%	108,559	80.49%	100,630	80.48%	NA		NA		NA		NA		NA
Flight Engineer	1,307	4.3%	1,348	4.3%	1,403	4.2%	1,432	4.7%	1,458	4.08%	1,626	3.71%	1,651	3.54%	1,691	3.73%	1,712	3.67%	1,731	3.63%	1,766	3.60%	1,828	3.58%	1,894	3.56%	1,901	3.49%	1,920	3.43%	1,986	3.44%	2,007	3.38%	2,070	3.36%	2,100	3.30%	2,124	3.25%	2,076	3.19%
* Numbers represent all certificates on record. No medical examination required.
** 2005 was the first year the Registry reported Flight Attendants.

Non-Pilot (Men and Women)
Source: FAA's Aeronautical Center (December 31st, 2020 data)

	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000
NonPilot (total)	724,307	714,201	688,002	671,222	652,943	728,329	717,399	707,155	701,291	695,515	686,717	682,315	678,181	666,559	656,227	644,016	515,293	509,835	515,570	513,100	547,453
Mechanic*	306,301	301,087	292,002	286,268	279,435	342,528	341,409	338,844	337,775	335,431	331,989	329,027	326,276	322,852	323,097	320,293	317,111	313,032	315,928	310,850	344,434
Repairmen*	36,741	36,294	35,382	35,040	34,411	39,363	39,566	39,952	40,444	40,802	41,267	41,389	41,056	40,277	40,329	40,030	39,231	37,248	37,114	40,085	38,208
Parachute Rigger*	7,014	6,800	6,430	6,192	5,851	8,846	8,702	8,491	8,474	8,491	8,407	8,362	8,248	8,186	8,252	8,150	8,011	7,883	8,063	7,927	10,477
Ground Instructor*	71,991	69,991	67,784	66,423	65,053	70,957	71,755	72,493	73,599	74,586	75,205	75,461	74,983	74,544	74,849	74,378	73,735	72,692	73,658	72,261	72,326
Dispatcher*	23,286	22,598	21,465	20,664	19,758	23,754	23,113	22,401	21,862	21,363	20,691	20,132	19,590	19,043	18,610	18,079	17,493	16,955	16,695	16,070	16,340
Flight Navigator	36	40	58	64	67	102	115	126	141	146	174	181	222	250	264	298	336	382	431	509	570
Flight Attendant**	248,742	245,699	231,355	222,037	212,607	200,319	188,936	179,531	172,357	167,037	159,946	156,741	154,671	147,013	134,874	125,032	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Flight Engineer	30,196	31,692	33,526	34,534	35,761	42,460	43,803	45,317	46,639	47,659	49,038	51,022	53,135	54,394	55,952	57,756	59,376	61,643	63,681	65,398	65,098
* Numbers represent all certificates on record. No medical examination required.
** 2005 was the first year the Registry reported Flight Attendants.