
Women Drone Pilots Increasing
Unmanned Aircraft Systems

International Women's Day was celebrated on March 8 and in aviation we've seen the number of women involved in the industry increase over the years. Unfortunately, despite the advances, the ratio of women compared to men in aviation is still considerably off balance. Statistics released from the FAA on the 2019 Active Civil Airmen Statistics (still waiting for 2020 numbers) disclose that females represent only 7 percent of the total manned aircraft pilot population. These same statistics show the disparity is equally present in the drone industry as the representation of women is low. Yet, there are some optimistic trends for women in UAS. The percentage of women drone pilots in the US has been steadily growing year over year from 3.9% in 2016, the first year of reporting, to 6.7% in 2019 with 10,818 women obtaining their 14 CFR Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. In the roughly three years 14 CFR Part 107 has existed, the number of women holding FAA Remote Pilot certificates has increased by 3 percentage points and is the fastest growing sector for women aviators. Over the next few months, the FAA should be publishing their 2020 Active Civil Airmen Statistics and we will monitor the numbers with the hope of women drone pilots balancing the ratio in the developing drone industry in the coming years.

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