Stacey Rudser, president of the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance, joins Cheddar News to talk about the lack of diversity in the aviation maintenance sector and what needs to change. 

Between Bells

Championing Women in Aviation Maintenance

Welcome back to Between bells when you're on a plane waiting for takeoff. Have you ever thought about the technicians who helped keep the plane intact? According to the Federal Aviation Administration. Less than 3% of aviation maintenance technicians are women. The Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance is working to grow those numbers by supporting and encouraging more women to join the sector. And joining us. Now to talk more is Stacy Rukeyser, president of the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance. Thank you so, so much for joining us. Why do you think there aren't as many women pursuing a career in aviation maintenance at this point? Hi Asia, thanks so much for having me. Historically, we have not seen a lot of women pursue maintenance. Career paths. You know, we have the iconic rosie the riveter from World War Two. And that's such a strong image in american culture that it's always surprised me a little bit that more women don't choose our career path. I think a big part of it really just has to do with the fact that on a perfect day aviation maintenance is invisible, the flying public isn't supposed to see us. And frankly, when we walk on an aircraft to fix something that's not the reaction that everybody is also excited to see maintenance come on board. It's more like, oh dear, what's wrong? When usually it's just something very simple. So by nature were an invisible career path and by history it's a career path mostly filled by white males. So moving the needle on diversity in the industry is very challenging. But it's something that we're very dedicated to hear at a wham. Well that's kind of striking to think that your position is kind of to be invisible to your point. Um, so that makes a lot of sense there. But how is the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance at this point helping to support women in this sector? So am has a number of strategies that we utilized to support and promote women in the aviation maintenance industry. Primarily our scholarship and our mentorship programs are scholarship programs. We just awarded over $82,000 worth of scholarships at the Women in Aviation International Conference just a couple of weeks ago. And through our scholarship program, we help keep students engaged, retain them throughout their careers and provide them with career changing training as they move through the course of their careers. Are scholarships are open each year and they open in the fall and it's available to everyone from the time they start school all the way throughout their entire career. And then our mentorship program that is available to anyone. You actually don't have to be a mechanic or a mechanic student or even a woman to participate in our mentorship program. We have mentors who are leaders in different sectors of the industry and the entire goal is to just build up a more resilient workforce because the more women we have in the workforce and the more help and guidance, we can give them throughout their education throughout their career, the better retention numbers that we're going to see it across the board and that's how we really create change Stacy. I got to know what inspired you to delve into this sector in aviation maintenance. Did you have any role models in the industry? Um So I like to say that I fell into aviation maintenance a little bit by accident. When I was in high school, I attended Melbourne High School in Melbourne florida and I was an Air Force junior ROTC. It just so happened that our instructor major Jim Christo was a maintenance major in the Air Force. And so as part of the curriculum we learned about the physics of flight and aerodynamics and a lot of really fun stories from him about working on airplanes and after high school when I really wasn't sure quite what I wanted to do. I thought back to those times and realized that a career path that I would really, really enjoy is the chance to work with my hands, doing something technical and really meaningful because our career makes such a big difference in the industry? Yeah. What do you think was the biggest challenge for you? You mentioned this industry largely dominated by white men. Um So were there things that you discovered in your own career path? So, you know, I think everyone has ups and downs, especially when you start talking about career fields where women are very much a minority. And I think one of the hardest things for me was very early on. I felt so isolated. I was the only woman in my school. I was the first woman to graduate from my school in Orlando and it just, it seemed like maybe there was never going to be someone that I could look to for support for help, for advice and that's where I am really stepped in. I want a scholarship with them in 2013 and being able to network with the women within a M and realized that I actually do have a community that I can reach out to has really sustained me throughout my entire career. And I really, really am excited to be stepping into a leadership role within the organization. Really such a pleasure to have you on for this women's history month that Stacy road, Sir, president of the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance. Thanks