Research-Based Argument Essay
Ricardo Cortes
English 2150
Essay #2 – Research Paper
4/22/17
The Case with Planes and Dames
The Greeks defined flying as, “moving or able to move through the air with wings”. However, as free as the sky is, female wings seem to be clipped as STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) programs, like the ones in Brooklyn Technical High School, are flooded by boys/men — I amongst the many. Participating in the aerospace engineering major in high school, I found these trends to be particularly prevalent and burrowed within my class’ mindset – we, boys, can’t progress if we can’t all progress, and that posed a problem, not just for our classroom, but for the future of aviation. There I met Aileen Gonzalez and Daisy Cabral who both defied the odds against the masses — not only were they both Hispanic, but they were both girls who worked just as hard, if not harder, than most of the guys in my classroom. Yet, constant pressure through micro-aggressions, stereotypes, and subtle discouragement bombarded them every day, which begs the question, why even allow them into such a major if you are going to treat them this way? We base our admittance into our major by an Intellectual Index, focusing on our combined math, science, and English scores to get into the appropriate majors — aerospace was the hardest to achieve. However, you would still find the girls preferring social science research and media. If they did pick a STEM major it would be software engineering (by low numbers either way). We strive for a society that value men and women equally in any position, to be paid and treated equally, whilst contributing to society in equal ways. Does STEM culture really reflect ideal societal goals or what we all strive for with women? To what extent does STEM hindrance affect women in the aviation field? Aileen and Daisy surpassed the stereotypes and work to make a difference in such regards, but is it enough?
Mitchell, Kristovics, and Vermeulen highlight the time-old trend of stereotypes and bias within the professional workplace. Jim Mitchell, Alexandra Kristovics, and Leo Vermeulen, university professors and writers of “Gender Issues in Aviation: Pilot Perceptions and Employment Relations”, bring to the reader’s attention the reality of a male dominated occupation that was meant for the benefit of humanity to traverse through the phenomena of such occupations via globalism by selective screening and social discouragement. In “Gender Issues in Aviation: Pilot Perceptions and Employment Relations” we see the rise of these trends through sexualized and stereotypical projection of women through testing and interviews in the FAA and Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Airliners and Aviation Federations embed themselves in the gender scrutiny that affect women’s participation in the sky alongside males through stereotypes and bias, theoretical realization of the ‘right-stuff’, and professional social deviances. In my major class, these stereotypes were something that would make its rounds for more than two years: girls would raise their hands, and the STEM stereotypes would arise — girls are less knowledgeable and take up class time reviewing the material and getting wrong answers rather than advancing. This made it increasingly difficult for girls to break out of their shell and reach their maximum potential. For example, my friend Aileen, a fellow wrestling team member and aerospace colleague, was faced with shuns from both males and females, both would feel she was too masculine due to her interests and thus led to her not getting a prom date, and not having many female friends. Males would cluster her in the “can’t-do-engineering-and-technology-better-than-us” or “why is she even trying?” labelled groups, whereas girls would further place her into a sub cluster on not being girly-girl or tomboyish for being on the boy’s wrestling team. Her determination was really admired, especially by me, turning out to be something truly special. I’ve had the privilege of seeing her reach captain status on the wrestling team, and ace pilot in my flight school, leading her own squadron of pilot students within our class. Through the opposition, came something truly special, this is especially true to Mitchell’s point, “The profession of aviation pilot has been historically, and still being, a male dominated occupation. Notwithstanding aviation’s history of legendary women aviators, the airline sector of the aviation industry has been slow in recruiting, training and advancing female pilots.” (Mitchell, 2) as the aviation industry has put down the women that have changed the world for the better. Amelia Earhart would captivate the world with her flight across the Atlantic Ocean which would resonate not only positivity with the globe, but negativity, as comments surged on how men would have flown the Atlantic faster, yet using the same plane. These comments were fueled by the age-old aviator’s excuse towards handling those worthy of taking on the stick, “The Right Stuff”. Aileen would place “Amelia Earhart as one of my greatest motivations to keep going…” where she would spend countless hours on the flight simulator after school — thinking beyond the school, but on the FAA private pilot’s license. However, the comments that plagued Amelia’s progress followed Aileen across generations which devastates motivation, “…it came with sexual remarks instead: ‘you could even be a part of the Mile-High Club along with your stewardess job’ the other boys would say. I felt like giving up more than once.” It’s not surprising to hear and goes to show how hindrances and stereotypes embedded within society affects women in aviation and other STEM fields.
As described by Kristovics and Vermeulen, disregarding the legislative way on job employment, much of the 20th century was focused on the theological principle of having “The Right Stuff”. In aviation, masculine beliefs, values and perceptions (having the ‘right stuff’) appear to continue to dominate the industry and the pilot profession. As Kristovics puts it, “the ‘right stuff’ is characterized by aviators and astronauts who were courageous, single minded and driven to successfully achieve personal and organizational goals.” (Kristovis, 12) and is still prevalent to this day. As this theoretical mindset grows, so does stigma for social adequacy with the recruitment of women – “The masculine culture of the industry has led to female pilots experiencing sexism, discrimination, prejudice, hostility and inappropriate discourse,” (quoted in Davey and Davidson, 2000:198-199). This is much like how Aileen and the rest of the few girls in my major felt throughout the years with us. We weren’t at all picking on them directly, yet we did because of how the professional landscape sets up women in the environment (unfairly, of course), but it’s down-right wrong. I remember my flight instructor hesitant to hand a girl amongst our major the flight-school sign-up sheet, as though he felt as though she might not become an adequate pilot or was joking. It’s not very healthy, but the STEM fields have always been a hostile place for women. When did this happen? I honestly like working with both men and women alike and both have come up with amazing ideas together. Imagine if Amelia Earhart were to have met Howard Hughes and had a simple coffee – the wonders (and press) that would generate would be both brilliant and ridiculous.
The characteristics of this discussion brings about the professional social deviances, violation of social norms, that exist within the world of aviation and how men perceive women behind the cockpit. As described by Nicholson in “American Women and Flight since 1940” (1996:13), sex-role stereotyping is pervasive’ and often women are first identified by sex and then by their professional role. We see both authors, Mitchell agree with Nicholson as “perceptions influence and underpin the professional culture of the pilots and the aviation industry. As masculinity is the dominant perception within the industry, female pilots (aviatrix) are faced with a confronting perception that is often unarticulated but acted out through associated behaviors.” (Mitchell, 47). The behavioral norms supersede skill and merit in the field and has repercussions in employment and indirectly, veering away prospective female pilots and engineers. Yet, an investigation and data charts from both the Federal Aviation Administration and joint Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority conducted a survey. The survey of 1114 pilots in Australia was conducted to ascertain their perceptions of female pilots. The results supported a two-factor structure consisting of flying proficiency and safety orientation. Results also revealed that females scored higher on these two dimensions than males, and that opportunity to fly with the opposite gender improved male perceptions of female pilots on Safety Orientation. Those undertaking Crew Resource Management (CRM) training also revealed more positive perceptions of females on this factor. The implications of these perceptions in respect of recruitment and training and development are considered and continuing inequities, stereotypes and bias are highlighted. Analogously, I can compare the ace squadron leader Aileen in my classroom to famous aviator Bessica Raiche, who wore pants, shot rifles, drove cars, and flew from coast to coast in the early 20th century. More women are breaking out of the societal cages that keep them at bay, telling them they don’t have the right stuff. They both embrace the deviance and flourish their goals in the field of aviation, even though STEM is not reflected as an egalitarian field(s) and how we sought society to be. Although she would receive a lot of backlash, over time she made us all change our perception towards a positive one towards her, Daisy, and Aleksandra much like the CRM and flight reports in Australia. It’s only a matter of time, and I am very excited to see women like Aileen fly alongside me soon. However, I did want to get a close inspection as to how she felt.
The STEM field is not only overcrowded with men, but it is an overbearing field to participate as a woman. I had the privilege to interview my colleague Aileen, now attending Embry Riddle, over Skype where she described her experience in our major and beyond school:
“I felt attacked at every angle, as if I were a parasite. While others treated me with utmost respect and curiosity to see a lady pursue her dream in aerospace, others were skeptical. Whether I end up in a private space exploration company, NASA, or zipping around in F-18’s, it was quite daunting facing not just the competition, but the negative language I received from them. Everything was a second guess or an ‘are you sure?’ even when I was right. It’s upsetting that we must put up with this. In the class I excel and love talking about it outside, but it came to the point where my family shushed me from speaking about it around the Thanksgiving table – as if it were an embarrassment for the rest of the family to know of my success and future goals. Women in the STEM field face this daily, and although are perfectly capable of creating a better tomorrow, there’s always that ‘double check’ we receive from professors – hell, even those you love because of societal norms.” (Aileen, Skype Interview).
It is indeed alarming to not see more women in these fields, especially since test scores are proven to cement their more-than-capable position. Personally, alongside Aileen, all the three women in my FAA private pilot’s license exam passed with a 90+ grade when I went back and asked. The men, not so much, with scores ranging from the majority failing (majority fails in a classroom anyway) to barely passing with 80-87%. This is amazing since women score higher on their first try than men do on their second or third try within STEM applied tests. There is the capability for women to equal (hell, surpass) men in such fields, and that is promising, but the statistics do not reflect equality in demographic standards.
When we compare the progress of commercial female pilots to other professions previously male dominated, the progress seems dismal. Female air traffic controllers now represent 26% of the air traffic controller population. According to the FAA, female flight dispatchers stand at nearly 18% of the people working in this field. Even female aerospace engineers have made greater progress. Virtually non-existent in 1960, the percentage of women making a living as aerospace engineers reached 9.2% in 2010. Interestingly, as reported by the FAA, “the percentage of commercial female pilots is half of the percentage of female boat captains and operators (8.2%), a quarter of the percentage of female police and sheriff’s patrol officers (15%), and about one eighth of the percentage of female doctors and surgeons (31.8%)” (FAA, qtd. In “Five decades of female pilots’ statistics in the United States. How did we do?”). Why such slow progress? One of the major factors that lead to this statistic is financial – The cost of training is often advanced as the culprit. In my time in the FAA Private Pilot’s Training program, the cost of a flight training lesson in a 2-seat airplane with fuel and instructor has not increased tremendously over the decades. Such flight lesson used to cost between $10 and $15 ($73-$110 in 2010 dollars) in 1960, between $20 and $25 ($115-$143 in 2010 dollars) in 1970, and between $30 and $35 ($85-$100 in 2010 dollars) in 1980, a cost low that was maintained until recently. Today, a lesson in a similar airplane averages between $130 and $160 (FAA, chart – Cost of Flying 1960-2010). There are other cost factors that could explain the lack of significant progress. In 1960, a new Cessna 172 cost $9,450 ($69,412 in 2010 dollars) or 3.6 times the average cost of a new car. In 2010, the same Cessna 172 cost $269,500 or 9.2 times the average cost of a new car (FAA, table – Pilot Population Growth & Cost of Flying 1960-2010). Regardless of the potential effect of cost factors, cost issues apply equally to male and female pilot candidates. The number of women earning $100,000 or more annually has tripled in the last 10 years alone. In 2010, over 1.4 million women were making $100,000 or more annually and over 1.1 million women were millionaires.
The secondary issue stems from psychological perception: According to S.J. Correll’s study in “Five Decades of Female Pilots in the US” (Air and Space Smithsonian, 42), a woman is often isolated and receives little emotional support as she goes through the normal up and downs of flight training. Because most flight instructors are male flight instructors, effective communication between the instructor and the student is often harder to establish. Training programs are designed for the typical flight student: a young, mechanically-inclined male. Unless she is mechanically-inclined or lucky enough to find a talented instructor, who can explain the information in a manner that she can comprehend, she might have trouble learning the material. Moreover, S.J. Correll believes that she must achieve a higher level of comprehension than her male counterpart just to be an average pilot.
But things are changing. After the Centennial of Licensed Women Pilots celebration in 2010, the industry started to take a closer look at where it stood in terms of integration of women. More photos of women pilots started showing up on aviation websites, more articles about successful aviatrixes were written, and studies examining some of the hurdles faced by female pilot candidates were commissioned. As the annual Women of Aviation Worldwide Week celebration in 2011 launched, aviation businesses, associations, and individuals eagerly joined in to introduce girls and women to the opportunities aviation must offer them. Women are the silver lining in both aerospace and STEM fields, and to reach back to them would require an overhaul in both societal values and deeper issues, such as psychology and marketing (how women are portrayed). There needs to be an egalitarian presence in media applications to bring forth the image we want to reflect what society strives to be. There’s a strong impact in how women are marketed and a lot must do with how we introduce such fields to them.
Women eventually began to enter U.S. major commercial aviation in the 1970s and 1980s, with 1973 seeing the first female pilot at a major U.S. airline, American Airlines, and 1986 seeing the first female captain at a major U.S. airline. Women’s participation in the field of aviation has increased over the years. In the United States, in 1930, there were around 200 women pilots but in five years there were more than 700. Women of Aviation Worldwide Week has reported that after 1980, the increase in gender parity for women pilots in the United States has been stagnant. Women flying commercial airlines in India make up 11.6% of all pilots, significantly further ahead than the global number of women airline pilots which is 3%. (NSF, Science & Engineering Indicators, pg.459, 2016). Although this was a breakthrough in women’s role in aviation, we now see first steps for a progressing female chain of command. US Air Force General, Lori J. Robinson, became the first ever female in aerospace leadership position sworn in by the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command in Colorado as a 4-star general. It is ironic however, that she commands a branch in the military that contains 81% males, which goes to show the disparity between females within the field. Even so, we see slight discrimination in her decorated path towards becoming a General: she was always assigned reconnaissance missions on the Boeing E-3 Sentry up until she was given 24 recon missions and 13 years later in her career to then fly combat aircraft. It is premature to say this would change over time as this is recent, but it is indeed interesting and worth noting in the future of how this statistic not only changes, but how the military is showcased and how that affects future women in STEM fields. This slight discrimination takes new heights from simple norms to outright advantageous for gender roles. As Aileen and the rest of the girls prepare to bring these stats to new heights, the integration of females leading STEM fields and most notable, Robinson’s role, it brings new role models for young women to reach — an example to show it is possible in an environment either discouraged or dominated by the opposite sex. Not only will this propel the aviation field for young women to consider, but brings both brings forth a step towards an ideal setting that reflect an egalitarian society built up from merit and without discrimination.
It’s difficult, yet incredible to see many women make strides in the STEM fields, and more so in aviation than ever before. Sadly, often women’s sex overcasts their profession, which is disgusting and unaccounted for in federal aviation administration’s. Not even the stats conducted by their administrations changes the way women are marginalized in aviation and their history. I guess Amelia, Raiche, Warner, and many others don’t give a good enough insight on how women accelerate in aviation, alongside their better on-average scores and flight skills. We all can do so much to turn the world around, I for one believe that these ideologies, especially the theoretical, right stuff, isn’t going anywhere for quite some time to keep it male dominated and plane to turn it around. If my dream of generating a private space exploration and aviation advancement company come to fruition, I and many others can change this stigma around. Until then, I hope to see more dames in the sky, it’s free and it belongs to everyone – if “sky’s the limit”, why does only the ground apply to women? Let’s all reach (and go beyond) our limitations, although arduous, society must start somewhere and that is to be seen due to how these age-old ideologies adapt to the trend of modernity.
Ricardo Cortes
Professor Martin
Cover Letter
To my esteemed peers and professor,
The essay topic on ‘The Case of Planes and Dames” came to me as I marinated the pieces discussed for Essay Two’s preparation — notably, Joan Didion’s “Sentimental Journeys”. The passage, albeit a more serious tone, does have an overlying theme on mistreatment of women mixed in with minority finger-pointing. The struggle between sexist and racist lines form a basis for my essay on mistreatment, more so, with women.
My exhibits include women who have experienced how society has pushed them down to the stratification imposed from decades’ past — the development of women in the STEM research fields. Again, I wanted to create an essay focused on women who were geared in my passionate field, aerospace engineering (and or aviation in general). By focusing on engineering, the STEM field is blown open from the backstage workings orchestrated by societal norms. It’s not a progressive one and hurts everyone in the fields. We see that women, although entering STEM fields through programs that are implemented nowadays, they enter in Computer Science as the go-to when “I can’t decide on what I want to do” or they wanted to do something different or tech-y. It’s not necessarily easier, but it is notably a distinct path with a known limitation on rigorous work — that of course, being objective.
There’s a strong demographic of women who would love to participate in such fields, despite the current data, and we see the potential they have through better-than-men test scores on average and the feats achieved by women to this date. This is not the time to stop or discourage them, but to fly together with them and overcome prejudices that exist between the sexes.
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