At The 2009 Women In Aviation Conference, Not All Are Pilots

By Gina Doughty

Pilots aren't getting all the press these days. At the 2009 Women in Aviation Conference, the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance (AWAM) had a non-stop stream of visitors to their booth, and according to exhibitor Lynette Ashland, that shows no sign of slowing down. "In this depressed economy, networking is critical. When people are having a hard time finding jobs, they look for people to network with; they look for sponsors." 

AWAM is one of the few organizations to claim growth in the face of economic decline.

AWAM's ties to the Women in Aviation Conference run deep. The organizational meeting was held at the WAI conference in 1996, and the founding board members and officers were elected at the Dallas WAI conference the following year.

According to the FAA, women account for only 2.13 percent of all non-pilot aviation jobs in the U.S.  Ashland attributes lack of outreach as one of the major reasons more women don't pursue maintenance or other technical fields. To fill that lack, AWAM provides a speaker's network where those who are interested in promoting women in maintenance can engage a speaker or offer their services as one.  Members are also offered free job listings, subscriptions to periodicals, discounts from certain vendors, invitations to AWAM sponsored events, an electronic newsletter, and the online forum and chatroom, which is currently open to the public.  Ashland states that AWAM also specializes in assisting female maintenance technicians getting out of the military in finding jobs in civilian aviation.

AWAM offers several scholarships to women interested in maintenance, much of it funded by the sale of their merchandise. Others are sponsored by major industry leaders like jetBlue, Southwest and Pratt & Whitney. According to Ashland, many companies were willing to offer scholarship funding for position they need filled. "We just went to them and asked what they wanted. A lot of them are realizing they need women in these positions...They are really supportive."

Ashland earned her AMT eighteen years ago from Indian Hill Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa. She subsequently spent eleven years as an AMT with Netjets, and is currently Chief Inspector for Roberts Aviation. Lynette is a member of the board for AWAM, and its ardent spokesperson. Originally on an engineering track, she soon realized she wanted to be more hands-on in her study of aviation. 

"I kept saying, 'This is cool, but how does it really work?'  I switched to maintenance and haven't looked back."

FMI: www.awam.org