Women have been involved in aviation from the beginnings of both lighter-than air travel and as airplanes, helicopters and space travel were developed. Women pilots were also formerly called "aviatrices" (singular "aviatrix"). Women have been flying powered aircraft since 1908; prior to 1970, however, most were restricted to working privately or in support roles in the aviation industry. Aviation also allowed women to "travel alone on unprecedented journeys". Women who have been successful in various aviation fields have served as mentors to younger women, helping them along in their careers.

Within the first two decades of powered flight, female pilots were breaking speed, endurance and altitude records. They were competing and winning against the men in air races, and women on every continent except Antarctica had begun to fly, perform in aerial shows, parachute, and even transport passengers. During World War II, women from every continent helped with war efforts, though mostly restricted from military flight, many flew in auxiliary services. In the 1950s and 1960s, women were primarily restricted to serving in support fields such as flight simulation training, air traffic control, and as flight attendants. Since the 1970s, women have been allowed to participate in military service in most countries.

Women's participation in the field of aviation has increased over the years. In 1909, Marie Surcouf founded the world's first female pilot organization, the Aéroclub féminin la Stella. Following the 1929 women-only National Air Races held in the United States, 99 of the 117 women holding U.S. pilot licenses founded the first American female pilot organization, the Ninety-Nines, named for the number of founding members. By 1930, there were around 200 women pilots in the U.S., but within five years there were more than 700. Women of Aviation Worldwide Week has reported that after 1980, the increase in gender parity among pilots in the United States has been stagnant. The global percentage of women airline pilots is 3%. While the overall number of female pilots in aviation has increased, the percentage remains the same.

History

The first woman known to fly was Élisabeth Thible, who was a passenger in an untethered hot air balloon, which flew above Lyon, France in 1784.

Four years later, Jeanne Labrosse became the first woman to fly solo in a balloon and would become the first woman to parachute, as well. Sophie Blanchard took her first balloon flight in 1804, was performing as a professional aeronaut by 1810 and was made Napoleon's chief of air service in 1811. Blanchard died in 1819, when her balloon caught fire. Although she was able to extinguish the blaze, the basket tilted and she fell to her death.

In June 1903, Aida de Acosta, an American woman vacationing in Paris, convinced Alberto Santos-Dumont, pioneer of dirigibles, to allow her to pilot his airship, becoming probably the first woman to pilot a motorized aircraft.

Starting 1906, another inventor of aircraft, Emma Lilian Todd began designing her own airplanes. Todd first started studying dirigibles before she moved onto designing airplanes. Todd's first plane flew in 1910 and was piloted by Didier Masson. Early parachutist, Georgia "Tiny" Broadwick started working with barnstormer, Charles Broadwick at age 15 in 1908. She made her first jump in 1908, and in 1913, became the first woman to jump from an aircraft. In 1914, Broadwick gave the very first demonstrations of parachute jumping to the United States government. When she retired in 1922, she had completed 1,100 jumps.

The first woman passenger in an airplane was Mlle P. Van Pottelsberghe de la Poterie who flew with Henri Farman on several short flights at an airshow in Ghent, Belgium between May and June 1908. Soon after, in July 1908, French sculptor Thérèse Peltier was taken up as a passenger by Léon Delagrange and within a few months she was reported as making a solo flight in Turin, Italy, flying around 200 meters in a straight line about two and a half meters off the ground. Edith Berg, an American, who flew as a passenger with Wilbur Wright in Paris in October 1908, was the inspiration of the hobble skirt designed by Paul Poiret.

The first machine-powered flight was accomplished by the Wright Brothers on December 17, 1903. Both brothers recognized the contributions of their sister Katherine Wright to their work. She found teachers who could help with the Wright's flying experiments. Katherine first flew with her brothers in 1909 and knew "everything about the working of their machines". Katherine supported them financially, giving them her savings and also supported them emotionally. When Orville Wright was injured in 1908, Katherine moved close to the hospital to take care of him. After the Wright brothers patented their aircraft in 1906, she worked as their executive secretary. In 1909, she traveled to Europe to become the social manager for her brothers. Her brothers were very introverted and relied on Katherine to help promote their work. The French government awarded her the Officier de l’Instruction Publique, one of France's highest distinctions, when her brothers received the Légion d’Honneur in 1909. Katherine was considered the "silent partner" of the Wright Brothers by The World Magazine. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch called her the "inspiration of her brothers in their experiments". This did not prevent Orville Wright from ostracising her when she got married. He thought of this as a betrayal. She died of illness less than a year later, and he did not reach her side until after her death.

1910s

Early pioneers include French Raymonde de Laroche who was the first woman in the world to successfully pass a flight test and earn a pilot licence on March 8, 1910. In 1909, a pilot licence had become required to fly commercially and participate in air shows. Seven other French women followed her, earning pilot's licenses within the next year. One of these, Marie Marvingt, 3rd Frenchwoman licensed for airplanes, but first French woman balloonist licensed in 1901, became the first woman to fly in combat, completing bombing raids over Germany. Marvingt tried to get the government to outfit air ambulances prior to the war and became the world first certified Flight Nurse.

Hélène Dutrieu became the first woman pilot in Belgium, obtaining the 27th license issued in her country in 1910 and the second female licensed in Europe. Later that same year, she became the first woman to fly with a passenger. In 1910, even before she earned her pilot's license, Lilian Bland a British woman living in Northern Ireland, designed and flew a glider in Belfast.

Blanche Scott always claimed to be the first American woman to fly an airplane, but as she was seated when a gust of wind took her up on her brief flight in September 1910, the "accidental" flight went unrecognized. Within two years, she had established herself as a daredevil pilot and was known as the "Tomboy of the Air", competing in air shows and exhibitions, as well as flying circuses. On October 13, 1910, Bessica Raiche received a gold medal from the Aeronautical Society of New York, recognizing her as the first American woman to make a solo flight. In 1910 the Femina Cup (Coupe Femina) an award of 2000 French francs was established by Pierre Lafitte, publisher of French women's magazine Femina, to honour the female pilot who, by sunset on December 31 each year, had made the longest flight, in time and distance, without landing.

Harriet Quimby became the USA's first licensed female pilot on August 1, 1911, and the first woman to cross the English Channel by airplane the following year. Thirteen days after Quimby, her friend Matilde E. Moisant an American of French Canadian descent was licensed and began flying in air shows.

Within a fortnight, Lydia Zvereva had obtained the first female Russian license and by 1914 she performed the first aerobatic loop made by a woman. Hilda Hewlett became the first British woman to earn a pilot's license on August 29, 1911, and taught her son to fly that same year. Cheridah de Beauvoir Stocks became the second British woman to gain a Royal Aero Club aviator's licence, on November 7, 1911.Flight November 11, 1911

In September 1910, Melli Beese became Germany's first woman pilot and the following year began designing her first airplane which was produced in 1913. On October 10, 1911, Božena Laglerová a Czech native of Prague, obtained the first Austrian license for a woman and nine days later secured the second German license for a woman. On December 7, 1910, Jane Herveu, who had previously been involved in automobile racing was licensed in France and began participating in the Femina Cup. Lilly Steinschneider became the first female pilot in the Austro-Hungarian Empire on August 15, 1912.

Rosina Ferrario, first female pilot of Italy, earned her license on January 3, 1913, and was as unsuccessful as Marvingt had been to get her government or the Red Cross to allow women to transport wounded soldiers during World War I. Elena Caragiani-Stoenescu, Romania's first woman pilot got the same response from her government about flying for the war effort and turned to journalism. On December 1, 1913, Lyubov Golanchikova signed a contract to become the first female test pilot. She agreed to test "Farman-22" aircraft manufactured in the Chervonskaya airplane workshop of The first woman on the African Continent to earn a pilot's license was Ann Maria Bocciarelli of Kimberley, South Africa.

In 1916, Zhang Xiahun () became China's first female pilot when she attended an airshow of the Nanyuan Aviation School and insisted that she be allowed to fly. After circling the field, tossing flowers, she crashed, becoming a national heroine when she survived. Katherine Stinson became the first woman air mail pilot, when the United States Postal Service contracted her to fly mail from Chicago to New York City in 1918. The following year, Ruth Law flew the first official U.S. air mail to the Philippines.

Women were also involved in teaching others how to fly. Hilda Hewlett and Gustave Blondeau teamed up in 1910 to start the first flying school in England, the Hewlett-Blondeau School. The school had only one plane with which to instruct students and was open for two years. Charlotte Möhring, the second German woman to earn a pilot's license, worked as a manager of a flying school in 1913.

1920 - 1925

Men and women after World War I were able to purchase "surplus and decommissioned planes". Wanting to fly, but with little demand after the war, pilots purchased the planes and went from town to town offering rides. Creating attractions to bring in crowds, these daredevils performed stunts, loops and began wing walking to attract more customers. The aerialists and pilots formed flying circuses sending promoters ahead of them to hang posters promoting their barnstorming feats.

In 1920, Phoebe Fairgrave, later Omlie, at the age of eighteen determined to make her aviation career as a stuntwoman. By 1921, she had set a world women's parachute drop record of 15,200 feet and worked as a wing walker for the Fox Moving Picture Company's The Perils of Pauline series. By 1927, Omlie earned the first transport pilots license and airplane mechanics license issued to a woman. Another stuntwoman, Ethel Dare had perfected walking from one plane to another by 1920, the first woman to perform the feat.

1926 - 1929