Women in Aviation & Leadership
Breaking Barriers - Shaping Leaders
Insights from one of fewer than 500 female airline captains worldwide.
Aviation hasn’t changed its gender balance since the 1980s, but leadership can.
Emma’s story reveals what it really takes to lead with clarity, calm and credibility when you’re one of the few.
6%
Only 6% of the world’s pilots are women.
3%
Only 3% fly commercially.
500
And fewer than 500 women worldwide have ever reached the rank of airline captain.
No meaningful change since the 1980s
A whole generation has passed, the industry has transformed, aircraft have evolved, technology has exploded. And yet the gender balance in the flight deck has barely shifted.
Why?
Because becoming a pilot isn’t just about skill. It’s about access, expectations, visibility, support, confidence, encouragement and knowing this path is even possible.
Not all of that has been equally available.
Flying When You’re One of the Few
When Emma stepped into aviation, she stepped into a space where she wasn’t “another pilot”. She was “the woman on the crew.”
Not better, not worse, just visibly different.
It meant earning trust fast.
It meant proving capability over and over again.
It meant staying calm when assumptions sat quietly in the jump seat.
It meant holding authority without ego, and presence without defensiveness.
Over time, that difference became an advantage.
Emma learned to lead with razor-sharp clarity, strengthened by structure, communication and grounded confidence. All qualities that aviation demands from every captain.
These lessons shaped her leadership style more deeply than gender ever could.
This Isn’t About Replacing Men It’s About Expanding Possibility
It’s not about quotas. It’s not about excluding men. Many of whom have been some of Emma’s strongest supporters.
It’s not about putting “female bums on seats” for the sake of optics.
It’s about something much simpler: Equity of opportunity.
A world where:
the best people can thrive
talent isn’t limited by visibility
leadership isn’t shaped by stereotypes
every individual gets the same chance to fly, literally and metaphorically
Emma’s story isn’t “women versus men.”
It’s humans supporting humans to lead with clarity, confidence and calm.
Why This Matters for Leadership Today
Whether you’re leading a team, building culture, or navigating pressure, the flight deck offers a brutally honest truth:
You can’t lead effectively if people don’t trust you.
And trust comes from: Communication, presence, structure, calm under pressure, the ability to make decisions with incomplete information, treating people like humans, not hierarchies.
Emma learned these lessons early, because standing out means scrutiny. And scrutiny, when handled well, creates exceptional leaders.
This is why her leadership work resonates just as deeply with men as with women. The pressures may look different, but the principles are universal.
A Story That Connects, Lessons That Endure
Emma’s journey isn’t about numbers or labels.
It’s about what happens when leaders stay grounded, communicate clearly and lead with confidence, even when the path ahead isn’t smooth.
Whether in the air or in the boardroom, the principles remain the same.
Keynotes Inspired by Emma’s Journey
Leading Through Turbulence
What aviation teaches us about decision-making, communication and leadership when the world feels unpredictable.
Grounded Leadership
How calm, clarity and human connection build trust — even under intense pressure.
Decision-Making Under Pressure
Why structure beats stress, and how leaders can make confident choices when information is incomplete.
Leading When You’re the Only One
Lessons from flying in environments where visibility, scrutiny and expectation are high — and what this means for modern leadership.