Black Women Military Pilots: Why So Few?

Описание: Female military pilots see the next barrier to break: Getting more Black women to fly
The women who were the first to break gender and race barriers as military pilots understand the isolation that comes with being the only female in their squadron.

They have spent years encouraging more women to fly, but as new data obtained by McClatchy shows, there are still few in the ranks, and even fewer who are Black.

Women comprise just 7 percent of the 48,308 active duty, National Guard and reserve pilots now serving in the military. Of those 3,314 female pilots, only 72 identified as African American or Black, according to military data obtained by McClatchy.

“I am disappointed in that number, but I do think it’s fixable,” said Lt. Col. Christina “Thumper” Hopper. As an F-16 pilot in 2003 over Iraq, Hopper became the first Black female Air Force pilot to fly combat missions in a major war.

“What I’m seeing that’s happening in the military, specifically through some of the circumstances that have happened in our country, are very positive things,” said Hopper, who is now a T-38 instructor pilot in the Air Force Reserve. “I think they are going to help us shift and move in the right direction, to hopefully increase some of the numbers from what we see now.”

Among active duty forces the disparities were stark. The Air Force has 12,323 active duty pilots, of which 13 were African American or Black women. In the Navy, of 7,074 active duty pilots, only six were African American or Black women. In the Army’s 9,133 pilots there were 25 African American or Black women. Within the Marine Corps’ 5,024 pilots, there were five. Among the Coast Guard’s 1,258 pilots there were also five. The data included only pilots, not additional aviator roles such as weapons officers or navigators.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper last week directed a Pentagon-wide review of racial disparities in the military and whether Defense Department policies have created barriers to equal opportunity. The review was prompted by the nationwide protests against racial injustice following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.

TREATING MILITARY WOMEN EQUAL
“These actions will maximize our efforts to ensure a diverse workforce at all levels, an inclusive environment, and equal opportunity for all who serve,” Esper said in a memo directing the military services to do an in-depth examination of all their policies that could discriminate, such as the criteria used to determine who is promoted.

The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services has also been looking into aircraft designs and equipment issues that may be dissuading women from pursuing pilot slots, such as ejection seats and flight gear that are designed for male body frames.

Hopper said programs are needed that target youth, to get them dreaming of becoming military pilots, then matching them with mentors to help guide them. The Black female military pilots who are flying can help by increasing their public outreach, she said.

“It can at times be lonely to be the only person in your squadron, in your unit, that is different,” Hopper said. “But at the same time, I feel like standing out and being an ‘only one’ has kind of given me a platform from which to reach out and encourage other young girls, and especially young minority girls, and tell them, ‘Hey there are opportunities here that exist for you.’”

“The more times that they see me, then the more times I think they see the possibility and perhaps that encourages the numbers to increase,” she said.

Women have been officially allowed into military pilot roles since the 1970s, even though they flew for the nation before that. Women who ferried aircraft for the United States during World War II as Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, were not considered military pilots until 1977, according to the Defense Department.
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