Not everyone has the chance to meet a true historical figure, let alone one who laid the foundation in the field they’re studying. I had the honor of meeting Mary Feik, the first female aviation engineer, back in 2014 and had several events through the Civil Air patrol that allowed me to be taught by her as well as assist her in teaching. Mary Feik’s life exemplified the progress women have made in the endeavor to gain an equal position to men in the field of Aerospace Engineering. Women have come a long way in overcoming gender biases in the workfield particularly in the sciences. While the journey has had many facets, engineering, more specifically aerospace engineering, had a particular struggle with the inclusion of women. Feik’s life …show more content…
In aerospace alone, women have been continuously fighting to stay represented. According to the article “Modern Women in aviation” by Jacqueline McLean “At the end of World War II, the future of women in aviation seemed to be in jeopardy. An unprecedented number of women had been recruited to aviation-related jobs during the war, but high levels of aircraft production and military personnel were unnecessary in peacetime. After the upheaval of the war years, most people wanted society to return to its "normal" state--which included keeping women in their traditional roles... Despite the fact that many of them lost their wartime jobs, the number of women working in the aircraft industry remained higher than before the war and only continued to rise in the following decades” Later, in the 1960’s, there were fewer and fewer chances for women in the field of aerospace. However, by the end of that decade, the equal rights movement put pressure on military leaders to include females. “They began to recruit women more heavily, examining new ways to employ them. Finally... women began to be trained as military pilots. In 1974, the Navy chose its first six noncombatant female pilots and... the first female U.S. Army pilot. Two years later, the Air Force followed suit and began to train …show more content…
Any legacy starts with a great foundation, and Mary Feik was no exception. She was born in Cleveland Ohio on March 9th, 1924. She started her path to becoming an engineer at a young age learning from her father and by the age of 13 she had overhauled her first engine and at 18 she had turned her attention to aircraft engines. After she graduated from high school she wanted to attend the University of Buffalo to study Engineering, however, she was denied the opportunity and told “we don't take women here.” Despite this setback in her educational plans, she learned aircraft maintenance and mechanics from the Army Air Corps during WWII at what was then Wright Field in Ohio and later taught mechanics there as well. There she tested many aircraft thus learning how to fly and became part of a traveling aircraft engineer assessment team. The position was to travel to evaluate aircraft for the Army to purchase.(Namowitz, 2016) Through this, she claimed her title as the first female aviation engineer in the “Air Technical Service Command’s Engineering Division at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. She flew more than 6,000 hours as pilot in fighter, attack, bomber, cargo and training aircraft. She qualified as a B-29 Flight Engineer and was an engineering analyst in test aircraft for flight and maintenance requirements.” (Barnes,
Before World War I, equality for woman and men were very unfair. Woman weren’t even legally “persons”; they weren’t allowed to join parliament or the senate because they weren’t legally “persons”, therefore these jobs were occupied by men only. During World War I and World War II, many men had left for war, thus meaning there were many job openings that needed to be occupied as soon as possible, women then began to take on stereotypical male jobs which men thought women couldn’t do or couldn’t do as well. Women showed their capabilities and realized they shouldn’t be considered less than men. In retaliation of not being considered “persons”, women decided to take action.
Love’s marriage shot her into fame in society and the world of aviation. It was known as something of a love story, and put her in a perfect position to campaign for a woman’s flying squadron. Robert and Nancy built up an aviation company that was based in Boston, and she was allowed to be a pilot. She flew for the Bureau of Air Commerce doing things like testing three-wheeled landing gear, which was later standardized, and marking water towers with town names as a navigational aid for pilots. Her first proposal was seriously considered due to her qualifications, but they were later rejected. In May of 1940, Love wrote to Lieutenant Colonel Robert Olds, who was in charge of setting up a Ferrying Command for the Army Air forces. She offered him the assistance of forty-nine expert female flyers. The suggestion was made to General Hap Arnold, who turned it down temporarily.
The women flew 60 million miles in 77 different air craft; maintained a safety record that was slightly better than male pilots; and had even trained male pilots. Yet it took 33 years after being disbanded for the WASPs to be given veteran status. After disbandment some of the women stayed pilots, but not with any of the major airlines. Others attained jobs as stewardesses to stay in the air. The major airlines would not hire these highly qualified and experienced pilots to fly their planes, simply because they were female.9
Many women would not take on this job because most women were set to be stay at home moms and start a family. Amelia always knew she did not want to be a stay at home mom, she wanted to make a difference, she always told people “If you want a certain job, try it! If you find that you're the first woman to fuel an urge in that direction, what does it matter? Fuel it and act on it just the same.” This tells a lot of people that she wanted to show us that woman can do the same work that men can. While she was working as a nurses aid a lot of the men that came in were injured from an aircraft, she became interested in aircraft and signed up for an automobile engine mechanics to learn
In the 1940’s World War II was the most widespread war in history. After Pearl Harbor was attacked the United States quickly became involved. Women pilots were utilized for the first time by the government. The Women AirForce Service Pilots (WASP) program freed up male pilots for combat service. The WASP’s exchanged knowledge and service for the U.S. While the program was active the 1,830 women who got accepted were given the opportunity to explore military aviation. The women encountered discrimination from the government and other male soldiers but,
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, millions of men were sent to join allied forces and many jobs were lack of labors. In the meantime, the war led high deaths and injuries. Therefore, most women had started to take a role to manage families and took the place of men and their jobs as men had gone for flight during the war. According to a research (Consena and Rubio, n.d. P.156), women usually recruited and worked in dangerous job positions, such as air flight, dangerous
In 1973, women began to grow in numbers in the All-Volunteer Force implemented under President Nixon. “In February 1988, Department of Defense (DoD) codified the Combat Exclusion Policy by adopting the ‘Risk Rule’”, (the DoD Combat Exclusion Policy) pg. 21, 22. The change of the feminine role in the civilian population has forced a review of their presence in the Armed Forces. These roles reviewed after the onset of the Exclusion Law in “1967 when the statutory strengths and grade limitations were lifted” (…GOA, pg 4) as well as in 1978 when positions available to women were expanded (…GOA). In 1992 and 1993 when the “Defense Authorization Acts were implemented, congress revoked the prohibition of women’s assignments to combat aircraft… and in January 1994 the ‘Risk Rule’ was rescinded” (the DoD Combat Exclusion Policy) pg 22. With the 1994 change in the “Risk Rule”, assignments were available for females in all services to participate in all available positions. Exceptions of “assignments to units below the brigade level whose primary mission is direct ground combat” (the DoD Combat Exclusion Policy) pg 22(ibid) were put in place.
Women played a crucial role during World War II, both with the production of war materials, and keeping our country from sliding back into a depression. Since the 1940s, women have continued to struggle to prove that they can do the same jobs that a male worker can do, and should get paid the same amount for it. Equal pay for women has continued to be an intensely debated subject since World War II, when women stepped up to fill the void in the workforce that men left behind when they courageously fought to defend our country.
Before 1939, women were looked at as weak, incompetent and incapable of doing a man’s job. However, when World War II broke out, women were called to maintain the jobs that the men once occupied and t became evident that America’s best chance for success in World War II would have to include the efforts of American females. Women played a key role during World War II in the U.S. More than six million women took wartime jobs in factories, three million volunteered with the Red Cross, and over 200,000 served in the military. Through these jobs women were able to show society that they were capable of doing bigger and better things. Women also realized that they enjoyed this taste of freedom and wanted to continue this lifestyle even after the war. World War II sparked the women’s movement, as the major role they played and the contributions they made helped to change the way women were viewed by society and create new opportunities for them.
The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was instituted in May of 1942 by Congress. It was later changed to the Women’s Army Corps which also had full military status. There were more than 100,000 WAC’s and 6,000 female officers by 1945. Another role women played in the war was given by the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots. (American Women in World War II) Women who obtained a pilot license prior to service became the first to fly American military aircraft. Over 1,000 WASPs served in the military and thirty-eight lost their lives during the war. The fallen WASPs were not granted military benefits or honors and it was not until 1977 that they were given full military status. (American Women in World War II)
In brief, this article presents a view that women in engineering must enter the field as “conceptual men”. This means that in order to succeed in a male dominated field, women must essentially “become like men”. The article goes on to interview women in the engineering field. In particular, Ranson (2005) interviews women with and without children. This provides differing views of how women in engineering with and without children in engineering have approached their jobs.
In 1943, not only had the female population contributed exponential numbers in support of the war but women had begun to dominate. Reports indicate that more than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry; this made up more than half of the total workforce. Prior to this moment in history, women’s involvement in the aircraft industry was merely one percent. Despite the manifestation of Rosie the Riveter propaganda and the continuous push to recruit women, they still were not granted equal pay for their services.
July 24, 1897, a belligerent war against the norm of society is interrupted by the birth of one Amelia Earhart. From the time of her birth in Atchison, Kansas, to her disappearance in the Pacific Ocean at the age of 39, Amelia Earhart was venerated as a beacon of hope for women aviators around the world. She is recognized as the first woman aviator to set multiple records and some acclaim that Amelia Earhart is “perhaps the most effective activist of her time.” Acting upon a simple yearn for flight, Amelia Earhart managed to alter the public view on women as workers as a whole, and provided a hero during the ubiquitous devastation caused by the Great Depression.
Throughout the 1920s and 30s, although forming a thirteenth of all aviators, many women played a significant role in flying. (Corn, p 72) Amelia Earhart was one of these women. She was a pioneer in women’s aviation. In 1928, she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic alongside pilot Wilmer "Bill" Stultz and co-pilot/mechanic Louis E. "Slim" Gordon. Four years later, she became the first woman to fly solo across the same ocean, replicating the record setting flight of Charles Lindbergh. During her life she set many women’s records: altitude records, solo American coast to coast flight records, and speed records. (Amelia Earhart, Achievements) She also came in at fifth place in the Bendix Trophy air race in 1936, of which women won three of the five top spots. (Corn, p 556)
Carol B. Muller, “The Underrepresentation of Women in Engineering and Related Sciences: Pursuing Two Complementary Paths to Parity.” National Academies Press (US); Web. 2003.