India has largest number of women pilots

November 16, 2018

When Asha Singh wanted to become a pilot in India 15 years ago, she had to first convince her parents to let her pick an uncommon profession for women, then deal with unwelcoming male colleagues in the cockpit.

Today, she says, it is a much easier career to take up. More Indian women want to become pilots, and more benefits await them: union-mandated equal pay, a safe workplace, day care services and a booming aviation sector.

India has the highest proportion of female commercial pilots in the world at 12.4%, despite the country’s patriarchal society, which typically frowns on women in such jobs. This is more than double the global average, according to latest data released by International Society of Women Airline Pilots.

According to latest data, the percentage of women pilots in the world stands at around 5.4% while in India this rate is 12.4%. India employs a total of 8,797 pilots of which 1,092 are women and 385 of these are female captains.

The big numbers are with IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways and Air India. IndiGo has 13.9% female pilots with 351 of them. Jet Airways has 231 women pilots which comprise 12.4% of its total pilots. SpiceJet has a total of 853 pilots of which 113 are women which makes 13.2% while Air India, the country’s pioneer in employing women pilots, has 1,710 pilots of which 217 are women (12.7%).