More than 16,000 girls around the globe experienced Women in Aviation‘s eighth annual Girls in Aviation Day on Sept. 24, 2022.
Girls between the ages of 8 and 17 participated in more than 120 events hosted by WAI chapters and corporate members.
The events took place at airports, FBOs, museums, and hangars in 19 countries across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Girls were introduced to career and lifestyle possibilities in aviation and aerospace by meeting female role models, listening to career panels, and exploring airplanes and airports. In addition, girls participated in a wide array of hands-on, fun, and educational activities ranging from a sectional chart treasure hunt, making paper airplanes and helicopters, learning about aircraft engines and avionics, and exploring weather systems and space, WAI officials report.
The one-day experience will continue year-round with the relaunch of the Aviation for Girls App, which provides hours of educational content. The app, which has already been downloaded by nearly 1,000 users in 37 countries, features digital issues of Aviation for Girls magazine, aviation and STEM activities, videos of female aviators highlighting various careers and aviation books, virtual tours of manufacturers, museums, and airports, information about WAI scholarships, and a timeline of Pioneer Hall of Fame inductees.
Also launched during this year’s Girls in Aviation Day is a new — and free — junior membership for ages 18 and younger.
“We know that Girls in Aviation Day has been instrumental in lighting the spark of interest in aviation and aerospace where girls are introduced to all the various career possibilities in a positive and fun event that is a trademark of our WAI chapters and corporate members,” says WAI CEO Allison McKay. “Seeing the excitement from the attendees of our Girls in Aviation Day events, we can now continue to engage them throughout the year with our Aviation for Girls App, free junior membership, and all the WAI resources. Our programs, in addition to the work of our industry partners, will finally change the face of this industry.”
Since WAI’s first Girls in Aviation Day in 2015, the annual event has grown every year since its first gathering of 32 events and 3,200 participants. In 2019, GIAD had more than 20,000 attendees participating in 119 events in 18 countries. In 2020 — owing to COVID-19 — WAI launched the free Aviation for Girls App with hours of educational content reaching thousands of girls from more than 60 countries. Last year’s GIAD reached nearly 10,000 participants at 85 individual events presented worldwide. While a majority of events were held in person, many were organized for virtual gatherings through the use of the app and additional video content, WAI officials noted.
For more information: WAI.org.
Seems female pilots span many a decade. Like most things, you’re inclined and find your own way…or you’re not and pushed into mediocracy and participation trophies.
When will the “Boys in Aviation Day” be held? For years now, boys and young men have been marginalized, through taxpayer and woke company funded efforts and in our government schools. What barriers exist to the weaker sex in aviation, if they ever have existed? Boys and girls are wired differently and tend towards different careers. It makes as much sense to think as many girls will enter aviation as boys, as the opposite will happen in nursing, education, government employees – or motherhood. Placing quotas or pressure on companies to hire people primarily due to their God-given sex or their skin color generally ends in disaster. In aviation this is particularly critical as there is not much room for error.