<p><img alt="L3 scholarships" src="/getasset/4b9e62c3-34b7-4fd4-9b51-ba0af6d4e81b/" /></p>
<p>Well done to L3 Commercial Aviation for putting some money behind an effort to redress gender imbalance in the cockpit.</p>
<p>The simulator manufacturer and training provider’s new Pilot Pathways Female Scholarship programme will provide 10 scholarships of £25,000/€29,000 in 2019 towards the cost training.</p>
<p>That amount is a fraction of the sum needed to complete a commercial flight-training course, but it will go a considerable way to helping those 10 would-be pilots raise the finance they need.</p>
<p>Do such gender-specific awards amount to discrimination against males, who might equally need some monetary help towards achieving their ambition? Well, not argues Geoff van Klaveren, vice president of L3 Airline Academy, when you consider that women make up less than 6% of commercial pilots worldwide.</p>
<p>Such grants will not suddenly redress the gender imbalance in aviation – there are many other factors from too few girls choosing STEM subjects to study at age 14 to 16 to a host of cultural barriers. However, L3’s move does send a message that more needs to be done to kick-start change, including by the airlines, training organisations, and aircraft manufacturers.</p>
<p>After all, unless the status quo changes, and the industry does more to attract half of the population to a career in the cockpit, the pilot shortage that is already affecting large parts of the world will only get worse.</p>
<p>L3 says it will unveil more scholarships and initiatives as part of its Pilot Pathways programme next year.</p>
<p>The first three scholarships under the new programme will be awarded in the first quarter of 2019, with the rest following through the year. Applicants to L3’s ATPL training programme will be assessed on their suitability for the scholarship by interview.</p>
<p>Well done to L3 Commercial Aviation for putting some money behind an effort to redress gender imbalance in the cockpit.</p>
<p>The simulator manufacturer and training provider’s new Pilot Pathways Female Scholarship programme will provide 10 scholarships of £25,000/€29,000 in 2019 towards the cost training.</p>
<p>That amount is a fraction of the sum needed to complete a commercial flight-training course, but it will go a considerable way to helping those 10 would-be pilots raise the finance they need.</p>
<p>Do such gender-specific awards amount to discrimination against males, who might equally need some monetary help towards achieving their ambition? Well, not argues Geoff van Klaveren, vice president of L3 Airline Academy, when you consider that women make up less than 6% of commercial pilots worldwide.</p>
<p>Such grants will not suddenly redress the gender imbalance in aviation – there are many other factors from too few girls choosing STEM subjects to study at age 14 to 16 to a host of cultural barriers. However, L3’s move does send a message that more needs to be done to kick-start change, including by the airlines, training organisations, and aircraft manufacturers.</p>
<p>After all, unless the status quo changes, and the industry does more to attract half of the population to a career in the cockpit, the pilot shortage that is already affecting large parts of the world will only get worse.</p>
<p>L3 says it will unveil more scholarships and initiatives as part of its Pilot Pathways programme next year.</p>
<p>The first three scholarships under the new programme will be awarded in the first quarter of 2019, with the rest following through the year. Applicants to L3’s ATPL training programme will be assessed on their suitability for the scholarship by interview.</p>