Cloudy views: Collegiate flight students' employability rating of CFI applicants by experience and gender

This research investigated factors that may influence perceived employability of pilots for a certified flight instructor (CFI) position to determine ways to improve workforce diversity within the aviation industry. The experimental study asked a sample of students (306 males and 91 females) at a Part 141 collegiate flight program in Florida to rate CFI applicants on two items: their certainty of hiring the applicant and certainty to have the applicant as a personal CFI. When presented with four professional bibliographies with different gender and flight experience combinations, these items were used to rate employability of an applicant. In line with the understanding that total flight time is a measure of pilot experience and thus qualification, participants had more confidence in the applicants with 1000 hours compared to the applicants with 300 hours. On the other hand, there was no disparity between the scenarios with different gender applicants. This indicates that current students prioritized important hiring variables (i.e., experience in the form of flight time) over gender when evaluating pilot applicants for CFI positions. This is a promising finding for the future of diversity within the aviation industry.