India Has Highest Share of Female Pilots

With 12.4 percent of Indian airline pilots being women, the country surpasses the world average for female pilots (5.8 percent) by far. This makes India the highest-ranked nation in data published by the International Society of Women Airline Pilots. No other country surpassed 10 percent, with Ireland and South Africa listed just below that threshold.

According to Bloomberg, India has been successful in recruiting women pilots through wider efforts to attract women to STEM and technical fields. The Indian armed forces also have been recruiting women pilots for several decades, even though they couldn't serve in combat roles until recently. According to the report, Indian female pilots also cited the support of their extended families, which often cohabit, as a reason for being able to carry out the demanding job which requires much time spent away from home.

Regional airlines employ most women around the world, with their share of female pilots as high as 6.4 percent. In India, regional airlines even employed a share of 13.9 percent of female pilots. The least women pilots could be found at Indian cargo airlines, while in Canada and Australia, cargo was the sector female pilots excelled most in after the regional airline market.

The United States and the United Kingdom stayed just below the world average. Japan and Singapore only have a share of women airline pilots that is around 1 percent, according to the data.