Easyjet lifts target for recruiting new female pilots

Easyjet (Frankfurt: A1JTC1 - news) is aiming to boost the number of female pilots with a target of a fifth of new cadets to be women by 2020.

The low-cost carrier said it had already doubled its intake of women pilots from 6% to 12% since launching its Amy Johnson Flying Initiative - named after the pioneering aviator - in 2015.

Chief (Taiwan OTC: 3345.TWO - news) executive Carolyn McCall, who is one of just a handful of FTSE 100 bosses, said it was hard to think of a profession other than aviation where women were so under-represented.

It recruited 33 female new entrant pilots in the first year of the scheme, who have now either started to fly or are assigned to courses due to start in coming weeks.

The new target will mean it is recruiting 50 women pilots a year.

Easyjet said currently only 3% of commercial pilots were female, and only 450 had achieved the rank of captain - meaning every female captain could fit onto an A380 aircraft.

In the year to the end of September 2015, women made up 5% of all easyJet's pilots.

It said it currently had 164 female pilots, of whom 62 are captains - 14% of the world's total.

Ms McCall said: "Fifty years ago almost all professions were dominated by men and over the last five decades there has been significant progress in almost every sector with women entering and attaining senior positions in professions like law, medicine, education, finance and politics.

"However, the proportion has not changed for pilots and it is hard to think of another high profile profession where women are so under-represented.

"We would like to understand why this is and to do what we can to redress the balance."

Women and equalities minister Caroline Dinenage said: "Women are still hugely underrepresented in the aviation sector and that's why this initiative is so important."