Representaciones de las pilotos de línea aérea

María Luz Novis

18 de julio de 2018

Hace ya 20 años realicé una investigación cualitativa, mediante grupos de discusión, sobre la autoimagen y las representaciones que tenían las mujeres de mi compañía (Iberia) sobre su trabajo y sobre sí mismas.  Las cosas han cambiado mucho en estos veinte años y espero, en algún momento, poder realizar otra investigación para mostrar las diferencias. El otro día, estando en el aeropuerto, vi a una mujer comandante de IB que regresaba de un vuelo. La vi caminando segura y confiada y me sentí muy orgullosa. 

He aquí un pequeño resumen de auqel trabajo que fue publicado en una revista inglesa de la que desafortunadamente he perdido la referencia.

Women pilots at Spain's Iberia Airlines believe that keeping a half-visible profile and avoiding conflict are crucial to their career success, a recent study by the airline's aeronautical psychologist has found.

Iberia has 47 women pilots, (35 in 1998) of whom two are captains. The rest are second officers.

While the women consider themselves "completely accepted" by the men they work with, they do not believe this reflects total acceptance of their abilities, says Maria Luz Novis. "They feel they are more closely observed and that there are more demands made of them than men, and that their mistakes are taken more seriously than the ones men make," Novis says.

In Novis's study, the women said they wanted to be accepted both as professionals and as women, which led them to adapt to the previously all-male environment by emphasising perceived female qualities such as tactfulness, empathy and good observation skills. Also, they avoided making demands based on what Novis Soto calls "women needs". And, they accepted without question the captain's authority, showing, in general, less motivation to be promoted to captain.

"An adaptation mechanism has positive outcome such as satisfaction, security, integration and escaping exclusion. Nevertheless, it implies personal cost between being and doing, interferes with the development of their capabilities and reduces their motivation to achieve," Novis says.

Half of Iberia's women pilots participated in the voluntary study, which consisted of group discussions.

Novis Soto has worked in Iberia's Department of Flight Safety for 10 years (four of them coordinating a multidisciplinary team whose objective was to improve cockpit health and safety). From 1993 she is working in Flight Training Department.

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