From newsroom to cockpit: Victoria's new challenge as a pilot

© Ekaterina Demidova | Dreamstime.com

Reuters’ airline correspondent Victoria Bryan has documented her training to become a pilot. Ms Bryan’s insight into what’s involved in taking to the skies looks at not only the practicalities, but also the structural imbalances. Today, being a “pilot” is predominantly seen as a male occupation. And while some airlines have been making efforts to redress a “hefty” male-over-female ratio, the problems persist. According to data from the UK and US, only around 4% of commercial pilots are female. In Germany, the numbers are a little better, at 7% – and that’s after three decades of the country’s flag-carrier adopting a policy of hiring women for the role. With some regions of the world experiencing an acute shortage of pilots, it seems redundant to ignore 50% of the potential recruitment base.