Women make up just 8 per cent of licensed pilots in Australia, according to the latest statistics from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) reported by ABC News on 7 November 20261. Pilots working in Western Australia's Kimberley region told the broadcaster that greater visibility, networking opportunities and clearer career pathways could help encourage more women into the profession1. The Australian Women Pilots' Association (AWPA) pointed to family-friendly policies, professional development and strong career pathways1.

How the 8 per cent compares with earlier figures

The latest figure compares with an earlier one from CASA. In a speech at the Rotortech 2024 exposition in June 2024, CASA chief executive Pip Spence put female participation at 7.2 per cent for all pilots and at 4.85 per cent for helicopter pilots2. A feature in CASA's Flight Safety Australia magazine in January 2019 said that around six per cent of licensed pilots were female in 2018, a figure it described as around the same in Australia as in the USA3.

Globally, an ICAO survey of licensed aviation personnel found that the percentage of women pilots in service rose from 3.6 per cent in 2016 to 4.0 per cent in 20214. North America had the highest share, at 4.6 per cent, followed by Africa with 4.1 per cent and Europe with 4.0 per cent4. In Australia's air and space transport sector, data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency for 2024 to 2025 shows that women make up 26 per cent of professionals, a group that includes pilots and air traffic controllers5. The sector's average total remuneration gender pay gap (mid-point) is 27.8 per cent, against a national average of 11.2 per cent5.

Flying single-pilot in the Kimberley

Caroline Jamieson, a senior pilot with Shoal Air in Broome, said passengers often ask her for advice on behalf of a daughter who is interested in flying1. She said traditional gender stereotypes still surface, and that passengers have sometimes mistaken female pilots for flight attendants1. "It's growing, the girls are coming, we're waiting for the girls," she said1. Greta Taine, a senior Shoal Air pilot in Kununurra, said young girls should not let their gender deter them from a career in aviation, adding that the job "has its challenges but it's really rewarding"1.

Hilary Wilkins, vice-president of AWPA and a helicopter pilot, said the remoteness of the region gave newcomers vast opportunities to develop their skills1. "We do a lot of single-pilot operations. You have to make all the decisions on the day about where you're going, what you're doing, managing fuel, managing passengers," she said1. According to Wilkins, Broome also offers the opportunity to progress from small single-engine aircraft to twins and up to bigger passenger aircraft1. For the rotary-wing route, see our guide to becoming a helicopter pilot.

Qantas Group Pilot Academy scholarships for women

The Qantas Group Pilot Academy is based at Wellcamp Airport in Toowoomba, Queensland, and is run in partnership with Flight Training Adelaide (FTA), whose school profile we also list6. Graduates obtain a CASA commercial pilot licence (CPL) and a multi-engine command instrument rating, and complete ATPL theory and multi-crew cooperation (MCC) training; a private pilot licence is not included6. The full course takes 55 weeks7.

The academy offers scholarships for female and First Nations students, and Qantas says applications from women or First Nations people are being accepted for academy courses until 20286. The scholarships cover on-site accommodation and meals for the 55-week course7. The women's scholarship is open only to women with Australian citizenship, and the First Nations scholarship only to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with Australian citizenship7. Accommodation, at approximately A$490 a week, is not included in the course fees, and the online psychometric and skills assessment costs A$2007. A CASA Class 1 medical certificate is required before the course starts; our page on Class 1 medical requirements explains what that involves7. Graduating does not guarantee a job: students who complete all course requirements are invited to a Qantas Group Accelerate Assessment Centre, after which successful candidates may be eligible for employment with QantasLink, Jetstar or Network Aviation Australia7. Australian citizenship or permanent residency is required for those graduate pathways7. Our Qantas pilot selection guide covers the assessment phase by phase.

Virgin Australia and AWPA

Virgin Australia had set a target of 50 per cent women for its pilot cadetship intake, and in November 2018 it said that 56 per cent of the recruits who passed the 13-week recruitment process were women8. In March 2025 the airline launched Future Aviators, a programme that took almost 60 Year 7 and Year 8 girls from South East Queensland behind the scenes of its maintenance hangar, head office and training centres, including the flight simulators9. Chief People Officer Lisa Burquest said the programme was a response to the industry's gender pay gap, with women underrepresented in technical roles such as engineering and piloting9.

One of AWPA's aims is "to assist women to undertake flying in Australia and elsewhere"10. Its current scholarship list includes the AWPA Flight Training Scholarship funded by Airservices Australia and the Lady Casey Scholarship, both worth A$10,000, and the Helen Trenerry ATPL Aeroplane Scholarship of A$7,75011. Candidates can apply for up to four scholarships but can win only one a year, and assessment panels of three to five people award them on merit11.

Government initiative runs to 2026

The federal government launched the Women in the Aviation Industry Initiative (WAII) in 2019 with A$8 million in funding to increase female participation and retention in the sector1. In September 2023, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts released a Strategic Action Plan to guide the initiative's delivery to 202612. Current projects include a programme by Flightdeck Crewing to make aviation careers more visible to high-school girls in regional and remote Australia12. For the training routes themselves, see our overview of how to become a pilot, the list of flight schools in Australia and our cadet news.