Everyone knows Amelia Earhart. Her name is synonymous with aviation history: the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, a pioneer whose mysterious disappearance only cemented her legend. But while Earhart became a household name, many other women, no less daring, innovative, or essential, have been written out of the story. More than a century later, their erasure is indicative of a collective failure to acknowledge their contributions, both to the aviation industry and the broader tapestry of history. Here are some of the courageous women who helped shape the skies.
1. Emma Lilian Todd (1865-1937)
In the early 1900s, Emma Lilian Todd, a self-taught inventor, was described by the New York Times, in 1909, as ‘a little woman who has the distinction of being the first woman in the world to have invented and built one of the handsomest aeroplanes in existence’. Denied a flying licence, she gave Didier Masson the honour of test-flying it. Her contributions to early aviation engineering and her work in promoting science education for girls were key to laying the groundwork for future generations of female innovators.
2. Georgia ‘Tiny’ Broadwick (1893-1978)
After the First World War, the U.S. experienced a golden age of barnstorming, airshows and stunt flying, as thousands of decommissioned military planes were sold to civilians. However, innovation came with tragedies: accidents were common, and many pioneers lost their lives. Parachutes were one of the lifesaving advances of the era. Georgia ‘Tiny’ Broadwick made history not as a pilot, but as a parachutist. She became not only the first woman, but the first person to manually deploy a parachute using a ripcord. Her demonstrations for the military revolutionised aerial safety and influenced future free-fall systems.
3. Bessie Coleman (1892-1926)
The first woman to earn a pilot’s licence was French baroness Raymonde de Laroche in 1910. Harriet Quimby followed just a year later in the U.S. It would take Bessie Coleman another ten years and a trip to France to obtain hers, due to systemic racism. Barred from American flight schools because she was Black and Native American, she learned French, trained in France, and returned in 1921 as the first African American—man or woman—to earn a pilot’s licence. She performed in airshows and used her platform to fight segregation. Her legacy lives on through the pilots she inspired, including William J. Powell, who helped launch aviation training programmes for Black youth.
4. Lotfia El Nadi (1907-2002) and Sarla Thakral (1914-2008)
In 1933, Lotfia El Nadi made history as Egypt’s first female pilot. She earned her licence in secret and shocked society by flying solo from Cairo to Alexandria. Sarla Thakral followed suit in India, becoming the first Indian woman to earn a pilot’s licence in 1936. She flew in a sari, becoming a symbol of modern aspiration. These women redefined the norms in their societies.
5. Sabiha Gökçen (1913-2001)
The role of women in aviation changes dramatically during wars, though the doors they forced open were often shut again in peacetime.
In Türkiye, Sabiha Gökçen, adopted daughter of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, became the world’s first female fighter pilot in the 1930s. She flew combat missions and became a symbol of secular modernity in the newly formed republic, though her role was also politically charged. Today, one of Istanbul’s airports bears her name.
6. The Soviet ‘Night Witches’
In the Soviet Union, women formed entire combat regiments. The most famous of these was the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, nicknamed the ‘Night Witches’, which carried out daring night raids against German forces. Their wooden planes glided silently through darkness to drop bombs with remarkable precision.
7. Jacqueline Cochran (1906-1980) and Nancy Harkness Love (1914-1976)
In the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt’s advocacy led to over a thousand women joining the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during WWII. Led by Jacqueline Cochran and Nancy Harkness Love, these women ferried aircraft, tested planes, and towed targets for live ammunition training. Yet, despite their vital contributions, they were denied military status and benefits until 1977.
8. Asli Hassan Abade (born 1958) and Kakayat Sanni (born 1997)
On the African continent changes came in the 70s with Asli Hassan Abade breaking barriers when she became the first female military pilot serving in the Somali Air Force. … and the only one during her tenure. In Nigeria, the honour went to Kakayat Sanni, when in 2019, she became the first woman fighter pilot in the Nigerian Air Force.
9. Martha McSally (born 1966)
A little over a decade later, Martha McSally made history as the first American woman to fly a combat mission and command a fighter squadron. She also successfully challenged the U.S. military over the requirements made of female personnel in Saudi Arabia, such as wearing an abaya or needing a male escort, ‘who, when questioned, is supposed to claim me as his wife. I can fly a single-seat aircraft in enemy territory, but in Saudi Arabia I can’t drive a vehicle.’
It should be noted here that changes have been ongoing in the middle-Eastern country too as Hanadi Zakaria al-Hindi became the first Saudi woman, to obtain her commercial pilot’s license in 2013.
In 2019, McSally revealed during a Senate hearing that she had been raped by a superior officer during her service, an experience she did not report at the time due to mistrust in the system. Her testimony sparked national outrage and demands for reform, shining a light on the deep-rooted cultural issues still affecting women in military aviation.
Despite these women’s groundbreaking achievements, the aviation industry has been slow to evolve. Training is prohibitively expensive. There is a lack of mentorship. Aviation culture continues to expect its leaders to look, sound, and lead a certain way.
10. Rachel Gilmour (born 1999)
Rachel Gilmour knows this firsthand. At 26, she is one of the world’s youngest commercial airline captains, flying some of Scotland’s most challenging routes. And yet, she is still mistaken for cabin crew. ‘It’s just gender stereotyping,’ she told reporters. ‘It’s always going to happen as I’m a young female.’ While her colleagues support her, passengers often assume that someone else is in command. Gilmour is navigating quiet but persistent headwinds. Her presence in the left seat is proof of progress, but also a reminder of how much more remains to be done.
Women, today make up just 6% of airline pilots globally. A recent study concluded that the issue is not competence, but culture. Organisational norms, not capability, are what push women out of aviation. Still, there are signs of change: the UK Civil Aviation Authority has reported a 26% increase in the number of pilot licences issued to women between 2019 and 2023.
