Only 6% of pilots in the U.S. are female. The number of female pilots is growing, but very slowly. It grew by just 1% in the past 10 years. At the end of 2017, 12.9% of FAA student pilots were female. United Airlines has the most female pilots out of any other airline at 7.4%. By comparison, about 75% of all flight attendants are female. The gender gap in aviation is so wide you could fly a plane through it. And that plane is probably flown by a man.
Delta has been making major strides in "closing the gender gap in aviation," thanks in part to its WING program. The program, which started in 2015, is an "effort to diversify a male-dominated industry and expose girls to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers at a young age." So far, it's flown over 600 female students, exposing them to a side of aviation they wouldn't ordinarily get to see.
This International Girls in Aviation Day, Delta completed its fifth annual all-female WING Flight. 120 female students between the ages of 12 and 18 were shown that aviation doesn't have to be a boy's club anymore. The entire flight was "planned and orchestrated exclusively by women." The flight crew was all women. The gate agents were all women. The ramp agents were all women. Even the flight control was, you guessed it, all women.
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The students flew from Salt Lake City to Houston to visit NASA. While at NASA, the students met with female movers and shakers in the aviation and engineering industry, including NASA astronaut and aerospace engineer Jeanette Epps. They also toured NASA buildings, learning about flight and space exploration.
The all-female flight helped the students realize their dreams are possible, regardless of their gender. "It didn't seem realistic to go after a career in aviation, but today I realized, 'Hey, I can do this too,'" Katelyn, a 17-year-old participant, said. "I never would have thought I would have had this experience. I'm really grateful for my parents who have made this possible and inspired my love of aviation," Karyanna, another participant, said. "It's such an exciting time to be in STEM. There's so much left for us to discover."
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But the flight didn't just inspire the students. It also inspired the women who currently work in aviation. "I am inspired by this next generation," Captain Kimberly Gibson told AOL Finance. "I think that there are more and more girls these days that understand that the world is an open door. I think this is one of the best things Delta can do to put themselves out there, to put our airline out there and to grow the next generation of pilots."
By encouraging students to pursue aviation, Delta is helping to create a future generation of pilots. "We know representation matters. At Delta, we believe you have to see it to be it," Beth Poole, General Manager of Pilot Development at Delta, said. Poole also helped start Delta's WING Flight. "We're taking ownership to improve gender diversity by exposing girls at a young age and providing a pipeline so that 10 years from now, they will be the pilots in the Delta cockpit inspiring generations of women who follow." Currently, 5% of Delta's pilots are women, but in the past four years, 7.4% of new pilot hires have been women. Delta also has achieved 100% pay parity for employees, something which is lacking in the aviation industry.
Hopefully, in the future, it'll be a lot more common to hear a female voice telling you they're preparing for landing when you're on a plane.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."