K-State strives to reset an entire industry
When K-State Salina named its new residence hall after Amelia Earhart, it honored her status as an aviation pioneer.
But let’s be clear: She’s hardly the only high-flying woman in aerospace. After setting multiple flight records, Helen Richey became the first woman commercial airline pilot in 1934. Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a space shuttle in 1995.
And when you consider that self-taught inventor E. Lillian Todd designed and built aircraft in 1906 — only three years after the Wright brothers took flight — you’d expect women to have a serious presence in aerospace.
So where are all the women?
The proportion of women pilots — a paltry 6% according to UNESCO — lags behind other STEM careers like doctors (44%) and engineers (21%). And women make up only 2.6% of the aviation maintenance workforce, says Rebecca Lutte of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Her study also shows that over the past 60 years, female representation in aviation has grown by an anemic 1% per decade.
Why can’t we speed things up?
K-State is on it. Our percentage of women in aviation — 14% and growing — is more than double the national numbers.
And with two flight teams placing in the collegiate top 10 in 2023, K-Staters are building a national profile in the Women’s Air Race Classic, which zigzags across 10 states in four days.
“This is a great opportunity to fly over different parts of the country you might not have seen before,” said Yulissa Hernandez, a professional pilot major from Salina. “We also have a chance to fly with and meet other female pilots and network with those in the aviation industry.”
Ladies and gentlemen, we’re ready for launch.
The pitch
K-State women are making their mark inside the cockpit and under the hood. Two donor-driven funds propel that success:
Support women in aviation
This fund supports scholarships and initiatives that move women forward.
Aviation maintenance scholarships
A new Vanier family scholarship fast-tracks women — and men — to address the projected shortage of 12,800 aircraft mechanics over the next decade.
