A Delta Crew Of All Women Flew 120 Girls To NASA Headquarters
Michelle Pizzarello writes about family travel and all the other things a traveling mom finds interesting for Pizza in Motion.
As a “Tom Boy” growing up I always had the mentality , “I can do better than any boy”. However, never once was I encouraged to explore science, math or taking to the air, even though those were the subjects I excelled in. The times have change and doors have opened for so many “girls”, women today!
Delta “WING” flight: Women Inspiring Our Next Generation
A flight crew of all women from Delta Air Lines flew 120 girls from Salt Lake City to NASA headquarters at the Johnson Space enter in Houston to inspire more female aviators in a field where more than 90% men dominate the industry. When I mean an all-woman crew I mean not only on the plane, but also on the ground as gate agents, ramp agents and operators in the control tower. The flight had the desired effect on the young ladies:
“It didn’t seem realistic to go after a career in aviation. But today I realized, ‘Hey, I can do this too,'” said a 12th-grade student named Katelyn.
These students ages 12-18, like Katelyn were selected through a partnership by Delta and Salt Lake City schools that offer STEM or aviation programs.
They were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to speak with other women in the aviation field that included Jeanette Epps, a NASA astronaut and aerospace engineer.
The moment I saw this article I was excited for me but most of all I was excited for my daughter. The sky’s the limit for her and she can be anything she wants to be. Now I just need to figure out when the next flight is and get my daughter a seat!
Michelle Pizzarello writes about family travel and all the other things a traveling mom finds interesting for Pizza in Motion.
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Surprised they did not crash or land at the wrong airport
Studies show male drivers are more likely to speed, drive while intoxicated and less likely to wear a seatbelt than female drivers. They’re also less likely to ask for directions. Stands to reason you’d be safer with a female pilot!
This flight was for International Day of the Girl, so of course let the man bashing begin! I’m still waiting for International Day of the Guy.
Does the fact I went to a breast cancer 5k this morning shield me at all? (I noticed the pink ties in the photo.)
🙂
Joseph, there was no man bashing. Kenny noted that he thought a plane piloted by women would get lost, without any evidence to back that up. I replied with statistics about men versus women. I’m not a basher, no need for anyone else to be one.
I LOVE that you went to a breast cancer 5K! Regardless of your gender, cancer is something we can all do without!
An international celebration of girls is not an attack on men! It’s great you participated in a 5k run but perhaps you don’t appreciate that women have had to work much harder to prove themselves in the last few generations.
Newsflash: Sometimes it’s not about you! Hopefully you cone to understand that.
Studies show that female drivers are more likely to get lost 🙂
“The average male drives an extra 276 miles every year as a result of being lost — the equivalent to a journey from Cincinnati to Nashville — compared to 256 miles for women, according to a study by British car insurance company Sheila’s Wheels.”
https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/male-drivers-lost-longer-women-refuse-directions/story?id=11949176
Your ignorance is pretty sad. Not only is your statement not grounded in fact, you
tried to double down to show how misogynistic you are. As a man, I’m embarrassed for you
Thanks for your post Michelle! Wonderful to hear about the crew, ground & ATC support for this group, plus the aerospace engineer astronaut.
With all the jobs filled by women highlighted for this flight, it presents a wonderful diversity of vocational opportunities that simply were not available to girls even in 2000!
Ramp agent sounds pretty cool! Always wanted to be on the ground waving the planes in! And each of the other positions too!
Storyteller, I would only want to be a ramp worker in April. That’s a rough job in the winter AND summer. Plenty of opportunities that didn’t exist before!
Judging by a small sample set of comments, we still have a ways to go in this uphill climb Fortunately, the upcoming generation is going to make huge strides. They have some five-star female role models, great opportunities and aren’t going to make very many wrong turns on their way to the forefront of aviation and We’ll all be better for it.
Mommy Points, think one of our daughters will be an astronaut? They all can be, which is a great start!
Ha ha. You never know. I do know that my C is looking forward to riding Space Mountain with your daughter, so we’ll call that a good start.
Michelle, this is one of the best posts I’ve read all week. I grew up with three sisters (no brothers!) so my parents had no preconceived notions of what girls could/couldn’t do and encouraged us to pursue whatever interested us. Yes, I did get an advanced degree in a STEM field :). Representation and opportunity matter… and so do facts, data, and statistics. Thanks for showing us a brilliant example of using evidence to combat ridiculous stereotypes!
Thank You Janet for you wonderful post.