About 76,000 girls of all ages attended 316 events organized to celebrate the 10th annual Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week, March 2-8, 2020 — a 30% increase from last year.
Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week (WOAW) was launched 10 years ago to celebrate the March 8 anniversary of the world’s first female pilot certificate earned by Raymonde de Laroche in 1910.
During the 10th edition, women and girls in 49 countries on all continents participated in WOAW events.
2020 also saw the highest level of engagement among industry participants who used social media campaigns to raise awareness of women’s historical contributions to the air and space industry and highlight their female employees as visible role models.
More than 3,500 individuals invested nearly 50,000 volunteer hours to give women and girls in their communities the opportunity to visit aerospace facilities, try various non-traditional activities, connect with women working in the industry today, and just have fun, according to organizers.
Pilots did not hesitate to use their own funds to introduce more than 4,786 women and girls to the magic of flight on a small aircraft, free of charge. Many flight training schools offered at cost discovery flights to women and girls during the Week and prompted another 2,459 women and girls to take the plunge outside of official events.
“This experience was amazing for my young daughters and me. We are so lucky to have participated,” said Julie Wilkins, who flew at Glacier Air in Squamish, Canada.
She is now learning to fly, competing for the $10,000 Fly It Forward scholarship offered by the Institute for Women Of Aviation Worldwide (iWOAW) and CAE awarded to the first eligible woman who flies solo.
Tusaş Engine Industries (TEI), an aircraft engine manufacturer in Turkey, opened its factory doors to 110 young women and gave them the opportunity to see how aviation engines are manufactured from the receipt of raw materials to final product release.
“Most women expressed that working in aviation industry was not on their minds until this tour, but that they would like to take part in the aviation industry in the future,” reports Can Doğu, TEI.
The Institute for Women Of Aviation Worldwide (iWOAW) is still sorting through thousands of reports and photos and will announce the winners of prizes and Fly It Forward Awards on March 26, 2020.
Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week 2021 will take place across the world from March 8 to 14, 2021.