Gender Related Perceptions, Stress, Anxiety, Depression, and Personality Characteristics: Females on the Flight Deck

This study explored gender related perceptions among male and female pilots and the extent to which such perceptions may cause workplace stress, anxiety, or depression which may affect female pilots. This study utilized two measuring instruments on a sample that consisted of 83 pilots and a third instrument on a sample of 52 female pilots and non-pilots. The three measurement instruments used where the Aviation Gender Attitude Questionnaire (AGAQ) to measure gender bias and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) to measure stress among female pilots and the Armstrong Laboratories Aviation Personality Survey (ALAPS) to measure personality dimensions of female pilots. There was a significant difference found between males and females across all factors. While this study concurred with research that suggests that female pilots are at greater risk for negative perceptions and sexism by male pilots, this study did not indicate any greater degrees of depression, stress, or anxiety in females as compared to their male counterparts. However, this study found that female pilots were more like their male counterparts than females as a whole, thus allowing females to fit easer into the more male dominated workplace.