Female pilots won't let gendered headwinds divert them

"The feeling of flying yourself for the first time is unlike anything I've ever experienced." 

Ms Johnson decided to make a mid-career switch in her mid-30s - from owning a business in the events industry to taking a seat in the cockpit.

She traded in Sydney's northern beaches for the rural Hunter region in northern NSW to make a dream she'd had since finishing high school a reality. 

"(Flying) was something I was always interested in as a young girl but when I looked at it as a career option in year 12, I was a bit intimidated and decided not to pursue it," she said.

"When we moved to the Hunter, I didn't even know if I'd been accepted into flight school or if I could actually afford it, so there were a lot of unknowns." 

Ms Johnson moved to the region with her young son, who has since earned his pilot's licence - before qualifying for his driver's licence. 

Seven years on, Ms Johnson is now a lead instructor at Aerohunter Flight Training in the upper Hunter, where she trains the next generation of pilots.

She also mentors young women hoping to break into the industry.

Her students include 17-year-old Ava Boras, who wants to fly commercially internationally for a major airline one day. 

Ms Boras has worked multiple jobs to put herself through flight school - her qualifications have so far cost her about $22,000 - but has taken a break from flying and working to focus on her HSC. 

The male-dominated nature of the aviation industry has not put her off her goal of becoming a pilot. 

"At the end of the day we're all human, just trying to do the job, and it doesn't matter if you're male or female because it's all down to skill and what you know," Ms Boras said.

"But it would be nice to see more female faces around the airport."

According to Qantas' 2025 gender pay gap statement, only 7.5 per cent of pilots are women, which is higher than the global average of four per cent.

Yet female pilots might outperform their male colleagues, a study conducted by Canada's University of Waterloo found. 

Despite male and female pilots having almost identical visual attention patterns and flight experience, the study found female pilots tended to make fewer flight control errors in high-stress situations. 

While both paid attention to the same information during a flight, women's responses were more consistent and accurate.

Ms Johnson said it was satisfying to see more women coming through the Hunter flight school.  

"The human factors in flying are what women are quite skilled at naturally: great communicators, can perform under pressure and we're good at being risk aware and making difficult decisions," she said.

"You don't have to be fearless, just willing."