Precursors To Gender Attitudes in The Air Cadet Gliding Population

Precursors to Gender Attitudes in the Air
Cadet Gliding Population
Emily-Ana Filardo
Angela R. Febbraro
Ritu M. Gill
This paper reflects the opinion of the authors, which is not necessarily that of Defence R&D Canada, the Department
of National Defence, or the Director of Flight Safety.
Defence R&D Canada

Technical Memorandum
DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199
April 2011
Precursors to Gender Attitudes in the Air
Cadet Gliding Population
Emily-Ana Filardo
Angela R. Febbraro
Ritu M. Gill
This paper reflects the opinion of the authors, which is not necessarily that of Defence R&D Canada, the Department of
National Defence, or the Director of Flight Safety.
Defence R&D Canada – Toronto

DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199
April 2011
Principal Author
Original signed by Emily-Ana Filardo

Emily-Ana Filardo
Visiting Fellow, Collaborative Performance and Learning Section
Approved by
Original signed by Matthew Duncan

Matthew Duncan
Head, Collaborative Performance and Learning Section
Approved for release by
Original signed by Stergios Stergiopoulos

Stergios Stergiopoulos
Acting Chair, Knowledge and Information Management Committee
Acting Chief Scientist
In conducting the research described in this report, the investigators adhered to the policies and
procedures set out in the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical conduct for research involving
humans, National Council on Ethics in Human Research, Ottawa, 1998 as issued jointly by the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of National Defence, 2009
© Sa Majesté la Reine (en droit du Canada), telle que représentée par le ministre de la Défense nationale, 2009
Abstract ……..
Directorate of Flight Safety (DFS) data between 1997 and 2007 suggest that a disproportionate
number of female pilots are involved in Canadian air cadet glider accidents. Research also suggests
that commercial aviation continues to be dominated by “masculine” cultural values and practices,
possibly leading to feelings of pressure among females to perform, as well as prejudicial attitudes
towards female aviators (Davey, 2004; Vermeulen & Mitchell, 2007). Research by Febbraro, Gill,
Holton, and Hendriks (2008) also found differential treatment of males and females in the Canadian
air cadet glider training environment. All of these factors suggest that female air cadets may be
exposed to negative attitudes and expectations and may encounter stereotype threat (i.e., negative
gender stereotypes) in flight situations. Such negative stereotypes or attitudes could, in turn, play a
role in the deficit in performance among female cadets, and possibly contribute to the number of
accidents attributed to females. This study explored the precursors to negative gender attitudes in an
attempt to identify some of the key factors that contribute to stereotype threat. Structural equation
modeling based on survey findings from a sample of male and female air cadets (N=211) indicated
that an awareness of pilot limitations and rational thinking patterns predicted aviation gender attitudes
(AGA). Knowing the precursors to negative AGA could point to a mechanism by which these
attitudes, and therefore, the environment encountered by female cadets, may be altered to increase
their confidence and decrease the stereotype threat, thus potentially leading to fewer accidents.
Résumé ….....
Les données de la Direction de la sécurité des vols de 1997 à 2007 indiquent qu’un nombre
disproportionné de femmes pilotes sont en cause dans les accidents de planeur chez les Cadets de l’Air
au Canada. Les recherches indiquent aussi que l’aviation commerciale continue à être dominée par les
valeurs et pratiques culturelles « masculines », ce qui peut amener les femmes à se sentir poussées à
avoir un rendement impeccable et mener à des attitudes préjudiciables à l’endroit des femmes pilotes
(Davey, 2004; Vermeulen et Mitchell, 2007). L’étude menée par Febbraro, Gill, Holton et
Hendriks (2008) révélait également une différence de traitement entre les hommes et les femmes dans
le contexte de la formation de pilotage de planeurs chez les Cadets de l’Air au Canada. Tous ces
facteurs indiquent que les femmes pilotes peuvent être exposées à des attitudes et à des attentes
négatives ainsi qu’à la menace du stéréotype (stéréotypes négatifs en fonction du sexe) dans une
situation de vol. De telles attitudes ou de tels stéréotypes négatifs pourraient entraîner une diminution
du rendement des cadettes et, ainsi, contribuer au nombre d’accidents causés par les femmes. Cette
étude tente de dégager certains des facteurs clés qui contribuent à la menace du stéréotype en
explorant les signes précurseurs des attitudes négatives liées au sexe. Une modélisation par équation
structurelle se fondant sur les résultats d’un sondage mené à partir d’un échantillon d’hommes et de
femmes appartenant aux Cadets de l’Air (N = 211) a révélé que la connaissance des limites des pilotes
et les modes de raisonnement rationnel prédisaient certaines attitudes liées au sexe. La connaissance
des signes précurseurs négatifs de ces attitudes liées au sexe pourrait permettre de trouver un
mécanisme par lequel ces attitudes (et, par conséquent, l’environnement dans lequel se trouvent les
cadettes), peuvent être modifiées pour améliorer leur confiance et diminuer la menace du stéréotype,
ce qui pourrait entraîner une réduction du nombre d’accidents.
DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 i

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ii DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

Executive summary
Precursors to Gender Attitudes in the Air Cadet Gliding Population

Emily-Ana Filardo; Angela R. Febbraro; Ritu M. Gill; DRDC Toronto TR 2009-199;
Defence R&D Canada – Toronto; March 2011.
Introduction and background: Directorate of Flight Safety (DFS) data between 1997 and 2007
suggest that a disproportionate number of female pilots are involved in Canadian air cadet glider
accidents. Research also suggests, however, that compared to males, female flight students may be
quicker to grasp instrument flight; have far fewer fatal accidents; tend to learn procedures correctly
and be more consistent in using them; tend to operate the controls of an airplane more skilfully; and
may be less likely to fly into dangerous weather or “show off” for spectators (Sitler, 2004). Yet,
female flight students may also have less technical background/experience; may be more fearful of
stalls or other unusual attitudes; may be slower to gain confidence; and may be more apprehensive
about their first solo flight. Research also suggests that commercial aviation continues to be dominated
by “masculine” cultural values and practices, possibly leading to feelings of pressure among females
to perform above average, as well as prejudicial attitudes towards female aviators (Davey, 2004;
Vermeulen & Mitchell, 2007). All of these factors indicate that female cadets may be exposed to
negative attitudes and expectations and may encounter stereotype threat (e.g., negative gender
stereotypes) in flight situations. Stereotype threat occurs when a negative stereotype exists about a
group’s expected behaviour in a particular situation (Steele & Aronson, 1995). Accordingly, the fear
of being judged based on group membership and/or based on the negative stereotype about females’
piloting abilities may create deficits in performance, which, in the aviation environment, could lead to
an increase in the number of accidents attributed to females. This study explored the precursors to
negative gender attitudes in an attempt to identify some of the key factors that contribute to stereotype
threat in this context.
Results: Structural equation modeling based on survey findings from a sample of male and female air
cadets (N=211) indicated that having an awareness of pilots’ limitations negatively impacted aviation
gender attitudes (AGA) (i.e., was associated with a less positive attitude towards female pilots).
Further, having a rational thinking pattern predicted higher scores with regards to AGA (i.e., a more
positive attitude towards female pilots). Knowing the precursors to negative AGA could point to a
mechanism by which these attitudes, and therefore, the environment encountered by female cadets,
may be altered to increase their confidence and decrease the stereotype threat, thus potentially leading
to fewer accidents.
Significance: This research suggests that people’s beliefs about pilot limitations and their rational
style of thinking predict their gender attitudes in aviation. More specifically, while female pilots are
viewed as following regulations more closely, they are also viewed as both less confident and less
proficient. The implication is that female pilots are viewed as overly cautious and are, therefore, more
severely scrutinized than male pilots. The prevalence of these attitudes in the air cadet gliding
population may result in a situation of stereotype threat where females are expected to perform poorly.
The added pressure that their performance is a reflection not only of their individual capability, but
also of the capabilities of all female pilots, could be reflected in their over-cautiousness, their lack of
flexibility/proficiency in unexpected circumstances, and their lack of confidence in their own abilities
in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Altering the circumstances that lead to stereotype threat situations for
female pilots (i.e., rendering the stereotype irrelevant) could increase their performance and decrease
the number of accidents attributed to female pilots. One way of eliminating the stereotype threat
DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 iii

situation would be to alter the relationship between negative AGA and its precursors, specifically
targeting the relationship between the beliefs about pilot limitations and AGA since that tends to point
to the idea that female pilots are perceived to have more limited ability than male pilots. Changing this
relationship to a positive or a neutral one could remove the pressure on female pilots to perform,
allowing them to relax and potentially perform at a higher level.
Future plans: Flight simulations that alter the stereotype threat present in the situation could lead to a
better understanding of the impact of stereotype threat on flight performance in females. A future
study that alters the presence of stereotype threat and measures the performance of male and female
pilots is a logical next step in the investigation of the discrepancy in accidents between males and
female pilots.
iv DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

Sommaire .....
Signes précurseurs des attitudes liées au sexe chez les Cadets de l'Air
pilotant des planeurs
Emily-Ana Filardo, Angela R. Febbraro, Ritu M. Gill; RDDC Toronto TR 2009-199;
Recherche et développement pour la défense Canada – Toronto, mars 2011.
Introduction et contexte : Les données de la Direction de la sécurité des vols de 1997 à 2007
indiquent qu’un nombre disproportionné de femmes pilotes sont en cause dans les accidents de
planeurs chez les Cadets de l’Air au Canada. Toutefois, les recherches indiquent aussi qu’en
comparaison des hommes, les élèves pilotes de sexe féminin peuvent saisir plus rapidement les
instruments de vol, elles ont beaucoup moins d’accidents mortels, elles ont tendance à apprendre les
procédures correctement et à les appliquer de manière plus uniforme, elles ont tendance à actionner
plus habilement les commandes d’un avion; et elles sont moins enclines à piloter par temps risqué ou à
tenter « d’éblouir » les spectateurs (Sitler, 2004). Pourtant, les élèves pilotes de sexe féminin peuvent
aussi avoir moins d’expérience sur le plan technique; elles peuvent craindre davantage les décrochages
ou autres situations inhabituelles; elles peuvent mettre plus de temps à gagner confiance en elles et
elles peuvent craindre davantage leur premier vol en solo. Les recherches indiquent aussi que le
monde de l’aviation commerciale est toujours dominé par les valeurs et pratiques culturelles
« masculines », ce qui peut amener les femmes à se sentir poussées à avoir un rendement plus élevé
que la moyenne et conduire à des attitudes préjudiciables à l’endroit des femmes pilotes (Davey, 2004;
Vermeulen et Mitchell, 2007). Tous ces facteurs indiquent que les cadettes peuvent être exposées à
des attitudes et à des attentes négatives et à la menace du stéréotype (stéréotypes négatifs liés au sexe)
dans des situations de vol. La menace du stéréotype découle de la présence d’un stéréotype négatif au
sujet d’un comportement attendu de la part d’un groupe dans une situation donnée (Steele et
Aronson, 1995). Par conséquent, la crainte d’être jugée en fonction de l’appartenance au groupe ou en
fonction du stéréotype négatif concernant la capacité des femmes pilotes peut occasionner des lacunes
sur le plan du rendement, ce qui, dans le contexte de l’aviation, pourrait entraîner une hausse du
nombre d’accidents mettant en cause des femmes. Cette étude tente de dégager certains des facteurs
clés qui contribuent à la menace du stéréotype dans ce contexte en explorant les signes précurseurs des
attitudes négatives liées au sexe.
Résultats : Une modélisation par équation structurelle se fondant sur les résultats d’un sondage mené
à partir d’un échantillon d’hommes et de femmes appartenant aux Cadets de l’Air (N = 211) a révélé
que la connaissance des limites des pilotes se répercute de manière négative sur les attitudes liées au
sexe dans le monde de l’aviation (c.-à-d. qu’elle est associée à une attitude moins positive envers les
femmes pilotes). De plus, le fait de recourir à un mode de raisonnement rationnel permettait de prédire
des résultats plus élevés à l’égard des attitudes liées au sexe dans ce domaine (c.-à-d. une attitude plus
positive à l’égard des femmes pilotes). La connaissance des signes précurseurs négatifs de ces
attitudes pourrait permettre de trouver un mécanisme par lequel ces attitudes (et, par conséquent,
l’environnement dans lequel se trouvent les cadettes), peuvent être modifiées pour améliorer leur
confiance et diminuer la menace du stéréotype, ce qui pourrait entraîner une réduction du nombre
d’accidents.
Importance : Cette étude indique que la perception quant aux limites des pilotes et leur mode de
raisonnement rationnel sont des prédicteurs de leurs attitudes liées au sexe dans le domaine de
DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 v

l’aviation. C’est-à-dire que, même si les femmes pilotes sont perçues comme suivant plus
rigoureusement la réglementation, elles sont aussi perçues comme ayant moins confiance en elles et
comme étant moins compétentes. Les femmes pilotes seraient donc perçues comme trop prudentes et,
par conséquent, seraient suivies de plus près que les pilotes masculins. L’incidence de ces attitudes
chez les Cadets de l’Air pilotes de planeurs peut entraîner des situations où une menace du stéréotype
fait que l’on s’attend à un piètre rendement de la part des femmes. La pression ajoutée par le fait que
leur rendement relève non seulement leur capacité individuelle, mais aussi des capacités de toutes les
femmes pilotes prises globalement, les inciterait à manifester une extrême prudence, à manquer de
flexibilité et à être moins compétentes en situation inattendue, ainsi qu’à manquer de confiance dans
leurs propres capacités, ce qui alimente les stéréotypes. Le fait de modifier les circonstances menant
aux situations où plane la menace du stéréotype pour les femmes pilotes (en désamorçant le
stéréotype) pourrait améliorer leur rendement et diminuer le nombre d’accidents où elles sont
impliquées. Une façon d’éliminer les situations où surgit la menace du stéréotype serait de modifier le
lien entre les attitudes négatives liées au sexe et leurs signes précurseurs en ciblant précisément le lien
entre les préjugés au sujet des limites des pilotes et les attitudes liées au sexe, puisque cette situation
tend à indiquer que les femmes pilotes sont perçues comme ayant une capacité plus limitée que les
pilotes masculins. La transformation de ce lien en un lien positif ou neutre permettrait d’éliminer chez
les femmes pilotes la pression qu’elles ressentent de devoir afficher un rendement supérieur, ce qui
leur permettrait de se détendre et pourrait mener à de meilleurs résultats.
Perspectives : Des simulations de vol modifiant la menace du stéréotype notée dans une situation
donnée pourraient permettre de mieux comprendre les répercussions de la menace du stéréotype sur le
rendement des femmes. Une étude future qui modifie la présence de la menace du stéréotype et qui
mesure le rendement des hommes et des femmes pilotes est la prochaine étape logique pour étudier
l’écart entre les hommes et les femmes quant au nombre d’accidents dont ils sont responsables.This
page intentionally left blank.
vi DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

Table of contents
Abstract …….. ................................................................................................................................. i

Résumé …..... ................................................................................................................................... i
Executive summary ........................................................................................................................ iii
Sommaire ........................................................................................................................................ v
Table of contents ........................................................................................................................... vii
List of figures ................................................................................................................................. ix
List of tables ................................................................................................................................... ix
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ xi
1 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Purpose of the Present Study ......................................................................................... 3
2 Method ...................................................................................................................................... 5
2.1 Participants .................................................................................................................... 5
2.2 Measures ........................................................................................................................ 5
2.2.1 Flight Safety Attitudes .................................................................................... 5
2.2.2 Rational Experiential Inventory ...................................................................... 5
2.2.3 Aviation Gender Attitudes Questionnaire ....................................................... 6
3 Results....................................................................................................................................... 7
3.1 Data Preparation and Screening .................................................................................... 7
3.2 Factor Analysis of Measures ......................................................................................... 7
3.2.1 Flight Safety Attitudes .................................................................................... 7
3.3 Preliminary Statistics ..................................................................................................... 8
3.4 Model Testing................................................................................................................ 9
3.4.1 Aviation Gender Attitudes ............................................................................ 10
3.4.2 Structural Equation Model ............................................................................ 11
4 Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 15
4.1 Measurement Models .................................................................................................. 15
4.1.1 Aviation Gender Attitudes ............................................................................ 15
4.2 Structural Equation Model .......................................................................................... 15
4.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research ....................................................... 16
4.3.1 Limitations .................................................................................................... 16
4.3.2 Suggestions ................................................................................................... 16
References ..... ............................................................................................................................... 19
Annex A .. Flight Safety Attitudes ................................................................................................. 21
Annex B .. Rational Experiential Inventory................................................................................... 25
Annex C .. Aviation Gender Attitudes Questionnaire ................................................................... 27
Annex D .. Rotated Factor Solution for FSA Scale ....................................................................... 31
DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 vii

List of symbols/abbreviations/acronyms/initialisms ..................................................................... 33
Distribution list .............................................................................................................................. 34
viii DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

List of figures
Figure 1. Hypothesized SEM predicting attitudes towards women in aviation............................... 3

Figure 2: Measurement model for Aviation Gender Attitudes.. .................................................... 11
Figure 3: Hypothesized model predicting Aviation Gender Attitudes. ......................................... 12
Figure 4: Standardized maximum likelihood parameter estimates of the model predicting
Aviation Gender Attitudes.. ........................................................................................ 13
List of tables
Table 1. Intercorrelations of factors derived from the FSA scale.................................................... 8

Table 2: Means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations of study variables. ............................. 9
Table 3: Mean comparison for variables across genders. ............................................................. 10
DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 ix

x DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

Acknowledgements
We would like to express our gratitude to the Directorate of Flight Safety (DFS), as well as the
Directorate of Cadets (D Cdts), for their support and assistance with the administration of the survey
for this study. In particular, we owe a debt of gratitude to our contacts at the five Regional Gliding
Centres/Schools, namely Captain Eileen Carter (Pacific Region), Captain Brent Cook (Prairie Region),
Captain Chris Toth (Central Region), Major Bert Seguin (Eastern Region), and Major Curtis Cooper
(Atlantic Region), for their practical and logistical assistance with survey administration.
We owe a special thanks and gratitude to all those who contributed to this research by completing a
survey. This research would not have been possible without your willingness to answer questions
about the gliding world and your own experiences, as well as your generous contributions of time.
In addition, we would like to express our appreciation to Ms. Rachel Spiece and Ms. Brenda Fraser for
their assistance with survey data entry; to Dr. Don McCreary, Dr. Donna Pickering, and Ms. Katherine
Webb for assistance in developing the survey instruments; and to Rachel Hogue, Wayne Giang,
Thomas Haylock, Navaneethan Siva, Alvin Fong, Kristen Blackler, and Chelsea Ferriday for
assistance with survey administration. We would also like to express our appreciation to Dr. Matthew
Duncan for his comments and suggestions on early drafts of this paper. We would like to thank Ms.
Karen Richards for her assistance with the final preparation of this document. Further, we would like
to express our thanks to Mrs. Andrea Hawton and Mrs. Tonya Hendriks for their technical support and
assistance throughout all phases of this research. Finally, we would like to thank Dr. Ann-Renée Blais
for her advice and assistance with the statistical analyses.
DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 xi

xii DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

1 Introduction
According to data collected by the Directorate of Flight Safety (DFS), female air cadets have
been over-represented in air cadet glider accidents in Canada. DFS records between 1997 and
2007 indicate that while female air cadets represent approximately 25% of the air cadet gliding
population in Canada (and 25% of instructors), they are involved in approximately 75% of the
glider accidents as either pilot at the controls, instructor, or solo monitor. An understanding of the
circumstances that have led to this disproportionate representation of females in gliding accidents
could point to areas that might be altered, resulting in fewer accidents.
One important area of understanding with regards to performance is expectation, which is linked
to attitudes. Research suggests that prejudicial attitudes towards female aviators continue to exist,
and that commercial aviation continues to be dominated by “masculine” cultural values and
practices, possibly leading to feelings of pressure among females to perform well above average,
as well as feelings of isolation or exclusion (Davey, 2004; Davey & Davidson, 2000; Kristovics,
Mitchell, Vermeulen, Wilson, & Martinussen, 2006; Vermeulen & Mitchell, 2007). Indeed, a
study of attitudes towards flight safety at the Regional Gliding School in Atlantic Canada
suggested the existence of a strong culture with components of “macho, invulnerability, and
antiauthority” (Dutcher, 2001, p. 34). Davey and Davidson also point out that female pilots feel
“on display” due to their prominence, being in such an overwhelming minority. As a result, any
mistakes that are made by female pilots are felt to be much more conspicuous than those of male
pilots.
This hyper vigilance with regards to the meaning of their behaviour for female pilots may lead to
situations akin to stereotype threat. Stereotype threat is defined as the fear by a member of a
stereotyped group that they will, by their behaviour, confirm the stereotype in a particular
situation in which the stereotype exists (Steele & Aronson, 1995). In their seminal paper, Steele
and Aronson (1995) argue that the self-threat that arises as a function of the possibility of being
judged based on a negative stereotype may interfere with the performance of the stereotyped
group. In a series of studies, they showed that Black students taking a test that was classified as a
measure of ability performed worse, were more likely to distance themselves from interests that
might classify them as stereotypically Black, and were more aware of Black stereotypes than
White participants or Black participants who were told that they were taking a non-diagnostic
test.
The impact of stereotype threat, however, can be altered by changing the applicability of the
stereotype to that particular situation. For example, Spencer, Steele, and Quinn (1999; Study 2)
found that when women were told that a test demonstrates gender stereotypes, they under-
performed compared to men; however, this was not the case when the women were told that the
test is gender neutral. Framing of tasks has also been shown to have a large impact on the
influence of stereotype threat on performance. Through framing, stereotype threat may be
induced in non-stereotyped groups (on one dimension, such as gender) given the right comparison
(on another dimension, such as race). For example, Aronson et al. (1999) showed that, compared
to control participants, White males underperformed on a math test after reading about the
performance of Asian males, a group stereotyped as excelling in mathematics. In a series of
studies by Stone, Lynch, Sjomeling, and Darley (1999), the performance of participants was
differentially affected by the framing of the task. The performance of Black participants on a golf
DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 1

task decreased when they were told that the task measured “athletic intelligence,” while the
performance of White participants decreased when they were told that the task measured “natural
athletic ability.”
One particularly interesting phenomenon with regards to stereotype threat is that stereotype threat
is triggered whenever an individual is in a situation where they know a negative stereotype exists
about their expected performance regardless of their actual belief in the stereotype (Osborne,
2001). As an example, women in math-oriented fields presumably have great faith in their
mathematical ability and yet, when faced with a challenging new task, the math-gender stereotype
is activated, ostensibly causing them to perform below their anticipated capability. Therefore,
despite the fact that an individual denies the applicability of any particular stereotype to
themselves (e.g., a woman in a math-oriented field would likely deny that the stereotype that
women are not good at math applies to her specifically), they are influenced negatively by the
possibility that their actions might be judged in terms of the stereotype.
Another by-product of stereotype threat, according to Stone (2002), is self-handicapping. In

Stone’s study of athletic performance, White participants who were told that a sports test
measured “natural athletic ability,” which presumably triggered stereotypes about athletic
inferiority, were less likely to practice than were control participants who were told that the test
measured “psychological factors associated with general sports performance.” Thus, behaviour
consistent with a negative stereotype may be triggered by that stereotype, much like a self-
fulfilling prophecy.
In the case of aviation, female aviators, feeling the pressure to perform above average in order to
“keep up” with the males, may actually over-learn the technical/operational aspects of flying
while remaining insecure about their actual flying abilities, which in turn, may make them
apprehensive and overly cautious in flight. Paradoxically, this focus on being overly cautious
results in poorer performance, especially in emergency situations where decisions must be made
quickly with little time to weigh out the safest course of action. Unfortunately, this poor
performance is consistent with the existing negative gender stereotypes often leading to a sense of
justification of these beliefs.
Research also suggests a mixed picture regarding gender differences in aviation safety. For
instance, compared to males, female flight students may be quicker to grasp instrument flight;
have far fewer fatal accidents; tend to learn procedures correctly and are more consistent in using
them; tend to operate the controls of an airplane more skilfully; and may be less likely to fly into
dangerous weather or “show off” for spectators (Sitler, 2004). However, in comparison to their
male counterparts, female flight students may also have less technical background/experience;
may be more fearful of stalls or other unusual attitudes; may be slower to gain confidence; and
may be more apprehensive about their first solo flight (Sitler, 2004; Vermeulen & Mitchell,
2007). Further, in interviews conducted with Canadian air cadets and instructors, Febbraro, Gill,
Holton, and Hendriks (2008) found that both groups felt that female pilots were treated
differently from male pilots during training. Participants indicated that female cadets were
generally less confident and more emotional than their male counterparts, and that feedback from
instructors to female cadets was tailored to this sensitivity, whereas males, who were perceived as
over-confident, were seen as able to endure harsh criticism of their performance. Unfortunately,
this differential, “sensitive” treatment of female cadets may have the inadvertent effect of re-
affirming the existence of gender stereotypes in the air cadet glider pilot population.
2 DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

1.1 Purpose of the Present Study
The primary purpose of the present study was to investigate the attitudes and traits that lead to
negative gender attitudes in the air cadet gliding population. Negative gender attitudes may have
important implications for the discrepancy found in the performance of male and female air
cadets in the gliding population. Negative beliefs and expectancies about female competency
could lead to an environment that breeds stereotype threat, which could account, in part, for the
decreased performance of female air cadet pilots.
In order to investigate the precursors to negative gender attitudes, data originally collected by
Febbraro et al (2008), who investigated social psychological and human factors in relation to
gender differences in air cadet gliding accidents, were used to assess a prediction model using
structural equation modeling (SEM) (see Figure 1). The advantage of using SEM for this type of
analysis is that it allows the researcher to posit an explanatory model using latent variables that
takes into account measurement error (Raykov & Marcoulides, 2000).
As noted earlier, the current aviation culture appears to accept female pilots reluctantly, and
seems to assume that female pilots are under-skilled and overly cautious. The hypothesized model
predicts that stereotypically “macho” beliefs with regards to safety will negatively predict
attitudes towards women in aviation. The prevalent belief of invulnerability associated with such
macho attitudes is predicted to show a similar pattern.
Finally, as discussed, research has shown that female pilots learn the controls faster, are safer, and
less likely to “show off” than male pilots. Individuals who think rationally should, therefore, see
these positive attributes of female pilots and present positive attitudes towards women in aviation.
On the other hand, stereotypes are irrational, often emotional thoughts, therefore, it was predicted
that experiential thinking, in contrast to rational thinking, would lead to a more negative attitudes
towards women in aviation. Therefore, the hypothesized model predicts that rational thinking will
lead to more positive attitudes towards female pilots, while experiential/emotional thinking will
lead to more negative attitudes towards female pilots.
Flight Safety
Attitudes
-
Rational + Aviation Gender

Thinking Attitudes
Experiential
Thinking
Figure 1. Hypothesized SEM predicting attitudes towards women in aviation (i.e., Aviation
Gender Attitudes)


2 Method
2.1 Participants
Febbraro et al (2008) collected data from 222 (170 males, 51 females, 1 unspecified) current and
past air cadets via paper survey 1. Participants ranged in age from 15 to 19 (M = 16.40, SD = 0.71)
and had been in aviation from 0 to 5 years (M = 0.84, SD = 0.81). Participants were recruited
from five Regional Gliding Centres across Canada: Atlantic Region (Debert, Nova Scotia),
Eastern Region (St. Jean sur Richelieu, Quebec), Central Region (Trenton, Ontario), Prairie
Region (Gimli, Manitoba), and Pacific Region (Comox, British Columbia).
2.2 Measures
2.2.1 Flight Safety Attitudes
Febbraro et al (2008), following Dutcher (2001), included 19 items from Simpson and Wiggins’
(1999) 25-item scale, which measured participant attitudes towards unsafe acts within aviation
(see Annex A). Participants were asked to respond to the items using a 5-point Likert scale,
ranging from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5). According to Simpson and Wiggins,
the scale was designed to measure two types of behavioural patterns that reflect unsafe acts:
violations, which are deviations from rules and procedures (e.g., “Accidents generally occur
because people do not follow the rules”), and active failures, which are errors with immediate
consequences (e.g., failure to extend the undercarriage prior to landing; “There have been times
when I have made serious mistakes that have affected my operational performance”). Despite the
two dimensions of the initial makeup of the scale, Wiggins and Simpson hypothesized that the
scale was unidimensional. Nonetheless, Dutcher created three separate subscales from 18 of the
19 items that he used. According to both Dutcher and Febbraro et al, the internal reliability of
these three subscales was poor, ranging from -.09 to .50.
2.2.2 Rational Experiential Inventory

The Rational Experiential Inventory-10 item (REI-10; Pacini, & Epstein, 1999) is a well-
established, valid and reliable scale consisting of two unipolar scales: one measuring rational
thinking (Need for Cognition; NFC) and the second measuring experiential thinking (Faith in
Intuition; FI) (see Annex B). Two independent approaches to thinking were assessed with five
items each, with a Need for Cognition characterized as being intentional, analytic, and
predominantly verbal (e.g., “I prefer to do something that challenges my thinking abilities rather
than something that requires little thought;” α=.75), and a Faith in Intuition characterized as
being automatic and intuitive (e.g., “My initial impressions of people are almost always right;”
α=.80). Items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from Completely False (1) to
Completely True (5). The means of the subscales were computed and analyzed.
1
Data from a web-based administration of the survey (N=129) were excluded from the present analysis due
to mean differences in variables across method of data collection. Findings from the web-based survey will
be presented in a separate report.

2.2.3 Aviation Gender Attitudes Questionnaire
The Aviation Gender Attitudes Questionnaire (AGAQ; Vermeulen & Mitchell, 2007) assessed
perceptions of female pilots (see Annex C). The 34-item scale assessed four components of
perceptions of female pilots (including female flight students): flying proficiency (i.e., how
proficient a female pilot is perceived to be at the task of piloting), safety orientation (i.e.,
perceptions about the level of safety awareness among female pilots), flight confidence (i.e.,
perceptions regarding female pilot confidence, assertiveness, and emotional stability), and flight
standards (i.e., beliefs that flight training and operational standards are being eroded by allowing
female pilots latitude when being tested for their pilot license). Responses ranged from Strongly
Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5). Reliabilities of the four subscales reported by Vermeulen and
Mitchell, as well as Febbraro et al., were high: flying proficiency (α = .93 & .85, respectively;
higher scores were associated with positive perceptions of female pilot flying proficiency), safety
orientation (a = .82 & .83, respectively; higher scores were associated with positive perceptions
of female pilots’ safety awareness), flight confidence (α = .85 & .90, respectively, higher scores
were associated with positive perceptions of female pilots’ confidence), and flight standards (α =
.82 & .74, respectively; higher scores reflected stronger disagreement with the beliefs that flight
training standards are being eroded by allowing females latitude when being tested for their
license). The means of the subscales were computed and analyzed.

3 Results
3.1 Data Preparation and Screening

Prior to analysis, all variables were examined for missing data.
Of the 222 participants who filled in the paper-based version of the questionnaire, 8 participants
(all male) stopped half way through the questionnaire and were, therefore, eliminated. Two
participants skipped one page of the FSA scale, resulting in a substantial amount of missing data
for that scale (5 and 6 out of 19 items, respectively) and one participant skipped a large
proportion of questions from the AGA scale (18 of 34 items) and they were, therefore, also
eliminated. For the remaining 211 participants, there was no pattern of missing data. The one
exception was the first item in the FSA. Because this item was on the first page, participants
appeared to include it as part of the instructions rather than an item and this item was, therefore,
skipped by 13 participants. Any missing data points were imputed using the expectation
maximization method available in SPSS. This method uses an algorithm to estimate missing
variables from the available data.
Two univariate outliers (i.e., z > |3.29|, p < .001) were converted to the next most extreme case,
which is a commonly suggested measure for dealing with univariate outliers (e.g., Kline, 1998).
Next, the univariate skewness and kurtosis of the data were assessed. The recommended values
for significance of skewness and kurtosis are |2| and |7|, respectively (West, Finch, & Curran,
1995). Violations of normality greater than these suggested cutoffs have been shown to effect the
interpretations made in the process of multivariate analyses (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001). None of
the items fell outside of these cutoffs, and therefore, no transformation of data was needed.
3.2 Factor Analysis of Measures
3.2.1 Flight Safety Attitudes
Due to the low reliabilities of the subscales presented by both Dutcher (2001) and Febbraro et al.
(2008), an exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the 19 Simpson and Wiggins (1999)
items. Extraction was done using a maximum likelihood (ML) procedure, which “estimates factor
loadings for a population that maximize the likelihood of sampling the observed correlation
matrix” (Tabachnik & Fidell, 2001, p. 610). A direct oblimin (i.e., oblique) rotation, which allows
the factors to correlate, was selected.
One convention for selecting the number of factors to be extracted suggests using the number of
factors whose eigenvalues are greater than one. In this case, 8 factors had eigenvalues greater
than one. However, an analysis of the scree plot, which plots eigenvalues in decreasing order,
suggested a 3-factor solution. 2 The factor analysis was again conducted, specifying three factors
to be extracted. Items with factor loadings less than .3 on all factors were eliminated since this is
2
The standard for assessing the number of significant factors based on the scree plot test suggests that the
point where a line drawn through the points changes slopes is the appropriate cutoff (Tabachnik & Fidell,
2001).

an indication that the items were not related to any of the factors. Six items were, therefore,
eliminated. A final analysis was conducted on the remaining 13 items. Annex D shows the items
that loaded significantly on each factor. The names of each factor were based on the common
themes of the items loading on each. Factor intercorrelations are reported in Table 1.
Table 1. Intercorrelations of factors derived from the FSA scale.
Variable 1 2
1. Time for HF --
2. Operational Performance .06 --
3. Awareness of Limitations .06 .05
3.3 Preliminary Statistics

All reliabilities, means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations for the variables used in this
analysis were calculated and reported in Table 2. While the reliabilities were, in general,
acceptable (.70 or higher), there were some exceptions. The operational performance and
awareness of limitations factors of the FSA had low reliability. Unfortunately, an assessment of
the individual items in the scales indicated that all of the items were correctly entered and did not
need rescaling. Also, no one item in any of the subscales accounted for the low reliability.
Therefore, all items were retained and the subscales were used in further analysis; however,
interpretation of the results is done cautiously, noting these limitations.
Considering the intercorrelations amongst the variables, not surprisingly, the subscales of the
AGAQ were highly correlated. Interestingly, the Safety Orientation subscale was negatively
correlated with the other subscales indicating that, rather than female pilots being viewed as
safety oriented, they might be viewed as being overly cautious and thus lacking in proficiency
and confidence, as well as creating a view that flight standards are reduced for female pilots.
Also as expected, the subscales of the REI-10 were significantly negatively correlated so that
participants who were high in NFC were lower in FI. A high NFC was significantly negatively
related to beliefs about the lack of time available for Human Factors (HF) and positively related
to the operational performance subscale of the FSA scale. NFC was also related to all of the
AGAQ subscales; NFC was positively related to the flying proficiency, flying confidence, and
flight standards subscales and negatively related to the safety orientation scale. Again it appears
that perceptions of being overly safety-conscious impede positive gender attitudes. FI was
significantly related to awareness of pilots’ limitations in gliding. Interestingly, FI was positively
related to safety orientation and negatively related to flying confidence. In other words, those
participants who tended to think intuitively tended to also hold positive views of female pilots’
safety orientation and negative beliefs about their flying confidence.

Table 2: Means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations of study variables.
Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1. Time for HF .70
2. Operational Performance .05 .66
3. Awareness of Limitations .02 .04 .48
4. Need for Cognition -.14* .17* -.03 .76†
5. Faith in Intuition -.10 .13 .17* -.17** .78
6. Flying Proficiency -.06 -.03 -.13 .20** -.07 .93
7. Safety Orientation .01 -.09 .20** -.15* .19** -.47** .85
8. Flying Confidence .02 .02 -.17* .18** -.16* .78** -.61** .89
9. Flight Standards .00 -.08 -.07 .17* .01 .52** -.17* .38** .71
Mean 2.76 3.59 3.38 3.57 3.36 3.38 3.20 2.76 3.54
Standard Deviation .89 .55 .61 .73 .63 .68 .68 .83 .74
Note. Numbers in diagonal indicate Cronbach’s alpha for reliability of the scale.
†One item on the NFC subscale of the REI-10 (“Thinking hard and for a long time about something gives me
little satisfaction”) was removed due to a low item-total correlation (.02).
There was no significant correlation amongst the factors derived from the FSA scale. The
awareness of limitations subscale, however, was significantly positively related to safety
orientation and negatively related to flying confidence. Apparently, the more conscious
participants were of pilots’ limitations, the more positively they perceived female pilots’ safety
orientation and the more negatively they viewed female pilots’ confidence.
Responses from male and female cadets on all of the variables were compared (see Table 3).
Gender differences were only found among the AGAQ subscales. Not surprisingly, female
participants believed that female pilots were more proficient and more confident than male cadets
did, had a more positive attitude towards female pilots’ safety orientation compared to male
participants, and felt, more so than male cadets, that flight standards were not being affected by
leniency towards female pilots.
3.4 Model Testing

All measurement and structural equation models were analyzed using EQS (Version 6.1; Bentler,
2007). Model fit was assessed with the chi square statistic, the Comparative Fit Index (CFI), and
the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA). The χ2 statistic is used to assess the
difference between the variance/covariance matrix based on the actual data and the matrix
reproduced by the model. With respect to the profile of a “good fitting” model, standards indicate
that χ2 should be non-significant, thus indicating a well reproduced matrix; however, this statistic
is based in part on sample size, thus allowing for small deviations in actual and predicted matrices

Table 3: Mean comparison for variables across genders.
Indicator Male M Male SD Female M Female SD t p d
Time for HF 2.78 0.92 2.68 0.76 0.66 ns .13
Operational Performance 3.62 0.52 3.47 0.61 1.73 ns .26
Awareness of Limitations 3.39 0.63 3.34 0.55 0.49 ns .08
Need for Cognition 3.55 0.71 3.66 0.80 -0.99 ns .15
Faith in Intuition 3.35 0.63 3.41 0.64 -0.63 ns .09
Flight Proficiency 3.23 0.61 3.88 0.66 -6.45 <.01 1.02
Safety Orientation 3.14 0.63 3.39 0.77 -2.27 <.05 .36
Flight Confidence 2.67 0.75 3.07 0.98 -3.01 <.01 .46
Flight Standards 3.41 0.71 3.97 0.67 -4.97 <.01 .81
to result in a rejection of the null hypothesis when sample sizes are large, as they often are in
structural equation modeling. A rule of thumb that has been put forth has indicated acceptance of
the model when χ2/df < 2 (Mueller, 1996). The CFI compares the fit of the hypothesized model to
the fit of a model in which all of the variables are independent. The RMSEA, on the other hand,
evaluates the fit of the model with reference to a saturated model where fit is perfect. CFIs greater
than .95 and RMSEAs less than .06 have been widely accepted as indicators of good fit (Hu &
Bentler, 1999).
3.4.1 Aviation Gender Attitudes
A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the validity of the structure of the AGA
scale within the student gliding population. Previous research has found the 4-factor structure of
AGA to fit well to the data. Therefore, a measurement model was tested such that AGA was
hypothesized as a latent variable with four observable variables: Flight Proficiency, Safety
Orientation, Flight Confidence, and Flight Standards. An analysis of this measurement model
using maximum likelihood estimation indicated a poor overall fit to the data (χ22 = 31.25, p < .01;
CFI = .91; RMSEA = .26). An analysis of the modification indices suggested the inclusion of a
correlation between the error variances of flight proficiency and flight standards. 3 A theoretical
argument for the inclusion of this correlated error can be made. Beliefs about the proficiency of
female pilots should be negatively related to beliefs that standards are being relaxed in order to
3
While there has been much debate in the literature over the validity of the inclusion of post-hoc
modifications, there is a valid argument for including pathways that were not initially hypothesized in the
model if the pathway makes theoretical sense (i.e., is not purely data driven) (e.g., Byrne, 1994). For this
reason, the post-hoc modification was made to the AGA measurement model here; however, replication of
this model is necessary in order to confirm its validity.

increase the number of female aviators. This correlation is related to beliefs about the relationship
between proficiency and standards regardless of gender itself, thus beyond that which is explained by
gender attitudes. In other words, the idea that a pilot is a skilled pilot is incompatible with the idea that
they were given their “wings” due to the leniency exhibited by an instructor. The same argument
cannot be made, however, for either Safety Orientation or Flight Confidence. A safe pilot and/or a
confident pilot may not necessarily be a good pilot and these issues are likely unrelated to the idea of
leniency except as they are associated with gender attitudes. The model was, therefore, re-analyzed
with the inclusion of this correlated error. This model showed excellent fit to the data (χ21 = 1.80, p =
.18; CFI = 0.99; RMSEA = .06) and was far superior to the original model (χ2diff = 29.45, df = 1, p <
.001) (see Figure 2).
Flight
Proficiency 0.62
0.78**
Safety
Orientation 0.79
Aviation -0.61**
Gender 0.39**
Attitudes 1.00† Flight
Confidence 0.00
0.38**
Flight
Standards 0.92
Figure 2: Measurement model for Aviation Gender Attitudes. Note: ** p < .05; † factor loading was
fixed rather than estimated in order to create a metric for AGA.
Despite the gender differences in the means of the indicators of AGAQ, the measurement model
fit the data from both genders equally well 4, thus the pattern of results (i.e., that higher levels of
safety orientation was associated with lower beliefs in female pilots’ proficiency and confidence)
held across genders. Thus, the data from male and female cadets were combined in the analysis of
the structural equation model.
3.4.2 Structural Equation Model
The hypothesized model tested the impact of beliefs about time available for HF, beliefs about
operational performance, awareness of pilot limitations, need for cognition, and faith in intuition
on aviation gender attitudes (see Figure 3).
4
Due to the small number of female participants, the measurement model tested on the females should be
interpreted with caution. However, given that this model matched the model for male participants there was
a justification for combining the data.

Flight
Time for Human
Proficiency
Factors
Operational Safety
Performance Orientation
Aviation
Gender
Attitudes Flight
Awareness of
Limitations Confidence
Need for Flight

Cognition Standards
Faith in
Intuition
Figure 3: Hypothesized model predicting Aviation Gender Attitudes. Note: all correlations among
predictor variables were hypothesized, but not included in this illustration for easy of legibility.
The results revealed that there was adequate model fit to the data (χ216 = 23.91, p = .09; χ2/df =
1.49; CFI = 0.95, RMSEA = .05). However, as can be seen in Figure 4, only awareness of 61
limitations and NFC were significant predictors of AGA. Because this model is exploratory in
nature, there might be some arguments for removing the non-significant pathways (Byrne, 1996).
While doing this does not significantly impact the fit of the model (χ26 = 9.15, p =.17; χ2/df =
1.52; CFI = 0.99, RMSEA = .05; χ2diff = 14.76, df = 9, p = .10), it would be best to retain these
variables until further validation of the model can be done.

Flight
Time for Proficiency
Human Factors
96
03 79*
Safety 78
Operational Orientation
Performance Aviation - 62*
02 39*
Gender
- 14*
Attitudes 99 † Flight 14
-.15* Confidence
17* Awareness of
Limitations 39*
Flight
16* Standards 92
Need for - 11
Cognition
17*
- 17*
Faith in
Intuition
Figure 4: Standardized maximum likelihood parameter estimates of the model predicting Aviation
Gender Attitudes. Only those correlations among predictor variables that were significant were
included in the illustration for ease of legibility. Note: * p < .05; † factor loading fixed.


4 Discussion
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the potential precursors to circumstances that
might lead to stereotype threat amongst females in aviation, specifically in the Canadian air cadet
gliding population. Stereotype threat arises when there is a negative expectation with regards to
performance based on group membership. Steele and Aronson (1995) showed that under a
stereotype threat situation (i.e., a test described as being diagnostic of intellectual ability) Black
participants underperformed compared to White participants. However, when the stereotype was
nullified (i.e., the test was described as non-diagnostic of intellectual ability), Black participants
performed at the same level as White participants. Other researchers have shown this
phenomenon to be true in other stereotyped situations as well (e.g., Aronson et al., 1999; Brown
& Josephs, 1999; Quinn & Spencer, 2001). The current study was aimed at investigating the
attitudes that might be altered in order to nullify stereotype threat in aviation situations.
4.1 Measurement Models
4.1.1 Aviation Gender Attitudes
AGA (a positive attitude towards female pilots) was higher when participants perceived higher
flight proficiency and confidence for female pilots and when flight standards were deemed to not
be unfairly lax for female pilots. Interestingly, safety orientation was negatively predicted by
latent aviation gender attitudes. In other words, participants who believed that female pilots had a
strong safety orientation (i.e., were more cautious, meticulous, less likely to take risks, etc.) held
more negative attitudes towards female pilots than did other participants. This result might be
expected when one considers the prevalence of the “Top Gun” mentality. Based on the 1986 film
in which a “Maverick” pilot prevails through adversity to become the hero, saving lives and
clearly being revealed as the best pilot, the best of the best, this “macho, invulnerability and
antiauthority” attitude remains prevalent in aviation (Dutcher, 2001, p. 34) and can be seen in the
pattern of relationships between the AGA and other observed measures. Thus, it appears that for a
female pilot to be considered truly confident and proficient she must not be overly cautious and
she must be willing to make decisions involving risk when flying.
4.2 Structural Equation Model

The purpose of the proposed structural equation model was to predict AGA in order to understand
avenues that might be used to change these attitudes. To this end, only two of the five
hypothesized contributors were found to predict AGA. Participants who were higher in awareness
of pilot limitations (e.g., felt that people got into trouble because they did not know their limits)
had more negative attitudes towards women in aviation. One might interpret this finding to mean
that stereotypically negative beliefs about women in aviation are related to beliefs that women
have greater limitations to their abilities. On the other hand, participants who were higher in need
for cognition held more positive attitudes towards women in aviation than did those who were
low in need for cognition. In other words, those who had a rational style of thinking were less
likely to hold stereotypically negative views of female pilots.

One important finding from the analysis of this model is that the paradoxical relationship between
safe piloting and proficient piloting needs to be resolved. As mentioned earlier, Sitler (2004)
indicated that female pilots are less likely to be involved in fatal crashes. This may be related to
their reluctance to fly in dangerous weather or perform risky moves, which, ironically, may create
a more negative attitude towards them and their capabilities. The implication seems to be that if
female pilots were truly proficient and confident in their abilities, then they would not be worried
about flying in dangerous conditions because they would be able to handle whatever might come
their way. Thus, ironically, it appears that in order for attitudes towards female pilots to become
more positive, female pilots must become less concerned with safety and act more recklessly.
Clearly, this prescription for female pilots is problematic in terms of promoting flight safety. An
alternative would be to seek to change attitudes reflecting a “Top Gun” mentality, in addition to
promoting a more rational thinking style.
4.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research
4.3.1 Limitations
There are important limitations to the analyses that were conducted. First, the measure of flight
safety attitudes that was used in the study was highly problematic. The 19 items adapted from
Simpson and Wiggins (1999) did not appear to belong to the same scale. The exploratory factor
analysis that was conducted not only revealed a 3-factor solution different from that hypothesized
by Dutcher (2001), but it also revealed that the factors were not well sampled as evidenced by the
low reliabilities of two of the three factors. The analysis also revealed that these items should
likely not belong to the same scale as they were uncorrelated with one another. A more valid and
reliable measure of flight safety attitudes would likely uncover an important avenue to improving
aviation gender attitudes.
Another concern in this study was the discrepancy in the number of male and female participants.
While the test of the model across genders was conducted for this report, it was noted that the
small number of female participants renders the testing of this model suspect. It would be
important in a future study to have a sufficient number of female participants to test the model
across genders.
4.3.2 Suggestions
It has been proposed here that one factor affecting the flight performance of females is stereotype
threat. This stereotype threat creates an expectation of negative performance and implies that an
individual’s performance will be representative of the performance of the stereotyped group to
which the individual belongs. Thus, an individual’s performance has implications not only for
that individual, but also for the group with which that individual identifies. In this case, there are
negative stereotypes surrounding the performance of female pilots as well as stereotypes about
their reactions to criticism and poor performance. These stereotypes suggest that the poor
performance of any individual female pilot is likely to be interpreted as not only a representation
of her own skills, but as a reaffirmation of the negative stereotype regarding female pilots as a
whole.

Preoccupation with, or self-handicapping as a result of, these stereotypes may be one factor
contributing to the poorer performance and the higher incidence of accidents involving female
pilots compared to male pilots. One aim of future studies might be to assess the performance of
female pilots when these threats have been reduced or eliminated. Past research has shown that
women who are told that a math test is gender-neutral outperformed women who were told that it
was gender-biased (Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999) as well as women who were given no gender
information (Walton & Cohen, 2003). In the same way, it might be possible to improve the
performance of female pilots by reinforcing the belief that there are no gender differences in
performance. Current training standards allow for the differential treatment of male and female
cadets. As discussed by Febbraro et al. (2008), instructors acknowledge that they treat female
cadets more delicately than they do male cadets. While the intentions of the instructors may be to
prevent negative emotional repercussions based on their feedback, the inadvertent result of this
treatment is to reinforce and highlight the differences between male and female pilots and the
expectations for them.
To assess the extent to which the differential treatment by instructors has an effect on the
confidence and performance of cadets, a future study, conducted in a laboratory setting, might be
designed such that “instructors” (i.e., participants playing the role of instructor) are trained to
treat male “cadets” (i.e., participants playing the role of cadet) in the same way that female cadets
are currently treated. A study by Word, Zanna, and Cooper (1974) showed that White participants
who acted as interviewers interacted differently with Black interviewees than they did with White
interviewees. In a subsequent study, when White participants, now acting as the interviewees,
were treated the way that Black interviewees had been treated in the first study, their performance
in the interview was altered such that they were judged to be less adequate for the job and more
distant from the interviewer. They also judged their interviewer and the interview experience
more negatively than participants who had been treated in the same way as the White
interviewees in the first study. In the same way, we can expect that the reactions of the male
cadets who are treated like female cadets might reflect the reactions of female cadets, thus
affecting their confidence and their ability to make quick decisions in stressful situations.
Similarly, a subsequent condition in the study might be designed such that instructors are trained
to treat female cadets in the same way that male cadets are currently treated. Theoretically, this
should result in better performance for female cadets.
The effects of stereotype threat may be more directly assessed in a future study by altering the
applicability of the stereotype to the situation. Using a computer-based flight simulator program,
participants can be assigned to one of three conditions, one in which the simulation is said to be
gender neutral, thus negating the stereotype threat, one in which the simulation is said to be
gender biased, thus eliciting the stereotype threat, and one in which no gender information about
the simulation is given, thus testing for the automatic activation of the stereotype. If the
performance of female cadets in an emergency flight simulation situation is improved when they
are led to believe that there exists no evidence of gender differences (i.e., that flight simulator
performance is gender-neutral), then it could point to an avenue for the reduction of accidents
involving female pilots.


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Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2003). Stereotype lift. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,
456-467.
Weber, E.U., Blais, A.R., & Betz, N. (2002). A domain-specific risk attitude scale: Measuring risk
perceptions and risk behaviors. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 15, 263-290.
West, S. G., Finch, J. F., & Curran, P. J. (1995). Structural equation models with non-normal
variables: Problems and remedies. In R. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues,
and applications (pp. 56-75). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Word, C. O., Zanna, M. P., & Cooper, J. (1974). The nonverbal mediation of self-fulfilling prophecies
in interracial interaction. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 10, 109-120.

Annex A Flight Safety Attitudes
Instructions: For each of the following questions, please indicate on the following 5-point scale how
much you agree or disagree with each statement. There are no right or wrong answers as your
responses reflect your personal attitudes towards flight safety in the context of gliding. Please read the
human factors definition below before completing the survey.
Human Factors Definition: Human Factors is a discipline of study that deals with the human-
machine interaction. Human Factors deals with the psychological, physical, biological, and safety
characteristics of the human and the system the user is in -- for example, how you as a glider pilot
(human) interact with the design of a glider aircraft (machine), and how your psychological (e.g.,
anxiety), physical (e.g., fatigue), and biological (e.g., dehydration) states may affect your ability to fly
a glider.
1. There is no time for human factors when split-second decisions need to be made.
1 2 3 4 5
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
2. I have never let physical problems influence my performance in the operational environment
(i.e., when flying a glider).
1 2 3 4 5
3. Effective aviation personnel can leave personal problems behind when in the operational
environment.
1 2 3 4 5
4. The successful management of a critical situation is due solely to operational expertise.

1 2 3 4 5
5. I can always deal with my stress (i.e., so that it does not interfere with my performance in
flying a glider).
1 2 3 4 5
6. In critical situations (i.e., concerning gliding), I find it easy to come up with options and
choose between them.
1 2 3 4 5

7. In a critical situation (i.e., concerning gliding), most people forget human factors training and
revert back to old, well-practiced ways.
1 2 3 4 5
8. With respect to flight safety, if I am in an unfamiliar situation, I would not hesitate to ask for
help.
1 2 3 4 5
9. Most aviation personnel get into trouble because they don’t know their own limits.
1 2 3 4 5
10. I have no time for human factors in critical situations.

1 2 3 4 5
11. Accidents generally occur because people do not follow the rules.
1 2 3 4 5
12. I would easily be able to tell if I were suffering from a physical problem that may affect my
performance (e.g., lack of rest, flu, cold, improper nutrition).
1 2 3 4 5
13. Human factors are more important to the Unit Flight Safety Officer (UFSO) and officers in
senior management positions than they are to people at the operational level.
1 2 3 4 5
14. There have been times when I have made serious mistakes that have affected my operational
performance.
1 2 3 4 5
15. Most people do not know how to monitor their physical responses.
1 2 3 4 5
16. Most people think accidents will never happen to them.

1 2 3 4 5

17. Professionals in the aviation industry should be able to deal effectively with critical situations.
1 2 3 4 5
18. In the context of gliding, most people can’t manage their stress or fatigue levels effectively.
1 2 3 4 5
19. In critical situations concerning gliding, I would probably forget human factors training and
revert back to my old, well-practiced ways.
1 2 3 4 5


Annex B Rational Experiential Inventory
Instructions: For each of the following questions, please indicate on the following 5-point scale
whether you view the statement as false or true. There are no right or wrong answers as your
responses reflect your personal attitude toward thinking and feeling.
1. I don’t like to have to do a lot of thinking.

1 2 3 4 5
Completely False False Neutral True Completely True
2. I try to avoid situations that require thinking in depth about something.

1 2 3 4 5
3. I prefer to do something that challenges my thinking abilities rather than something that
requires little thought.
1 2 3 4 5
4. I prefer complex to simple problems.

1 2 3 4 5
5. Thinking hard and for a long time about something gives me little satisfaction.
1 2 3 4 5
6. I trust my initial feelings about people.

1 2 3 4 5
7. I believe in trusting my hunches.

1 2 3 4 5
8. My initial impressions of people are almost always right.

1 2 3 4 5
9. When it comes to trusting people, I can usually rely on my ‘gut feelings.’

1 2 3 4 5

10. I can usually feel when a person is right or wrong even if I can’t explain how I know.
1 2 3 4 5

Annex C Aviation Gender Attitudes Questionnaire
Instructions: This part of the survey is designed to allow you to express your opinion about male and
female pilots. Please read each statement and select the one rating that best expresses your view.
There are no right or wrong answers.
1. Male pilots are less prone to incidents than female pilots.

1 2 3 4 5
2. Male flight students learn piloting skills faster than female flight students.
1 2 3 4 5
3. Female pilots tend to pay meticulous or close attention to detail.

1 2 3 4 5
4. Male pilots tend to ‘take charge’ in flying situations more than female pilots.
1 2 3 4 5
5. Women often lack the endurance to complete flight school.

1 2 3 4 5
6. The most likely reason for accidents involving women pilots is poor decision making.
1 2 3 4 5
7. Female flight students are more cautious than male flight students.
1 2 3 4 5
8. Female pilots become fatigued quicker during stressful flights than male pilots.
1 2 3 4 5
9. Female pilots prefer to have information above the required minimum, more so than male
pilots.
1 2 3 4 5

10. Male pilots are less nervous when piloting than female pilots.
1 2 3 4 5
11. Male flight students take greater risks in flying than female flight students.
1 2 3 4 5
12. Male pilots are less likely to make judgment errors in an emergency than female pilots.
1 2 3 4 5
13. Female pilots prefer to have complete resolution to a problem before taking off, more so than
male pilots.
1 2 3 4 5
14. Male pilots make less mistakes when piloting than female pilots.
1 2 3 4 5
15. Women tend to learn to fly and preflight ‘by the book’ more so than men.
1 2 3 4 5
16. Female pilots tend to worry too much about insignificant things when flying.
1 2 3 4 5
17. Female flight students tend to experience difficulty in learning to use rudder controls more so
than male flight students.
1 2 3 4 5
18. The likely reason for accidents in which female pilots are involved is aircraft mishandling.
1 2 3 4 5
19. Male pilots tend to be more assertive than female pilots.

1 2 3 4 5

20. Professional female pilots are only in the positions they are in because airlines want to fulfill
affirmative action quotas.
1 2 3 4 5
21. Male flight students tend to respond better to a ‘bounce’ than female flight students.
1 2 3 4 5
22. Female pilots are more likely to lose control following a spin than male pilots.
1 2 3 4 5
23. Male pilots tend to be more confident than female pilots.

1 2 3 4 5
24. When learning to fly female pilots are more safety-oriented than male pilots.
1 2 3 4 5
25. Male pilots are less likely to lose control when landing or taking off in a crosswind than
female pilots.
1 2 3 4 5
26. Male flight students tend to be less fearful of learning spin procedures than female students.
1 2 3 4 5
27. Flight program standards for the airlines/military have been relaxed in order to increase the
number of female pilots.
1 2 3 4 5
28. Female pilots’ decision-making ability is as good in emergency situations as it is in routine

flights.
1 2 3 4 5
29. Male supervisors of female pilots often let them get away with a little more because they are
afraid of being branded sexist.
1 2 3 4 5

30. Female flight students tend to experience more difficulty in learning radio communication
procedures than male flight students.
1 2 3 4 5
31. In a given situation, male pilots will often make a decision quicker than female pilots.
1 2 3 4 5
32. Female flight students may feel intimidated when first learning to fly more so than male flight
students might.
1 2 3 4 5
33. Female pilots often lack the leadership ability required to pilot a multi-crew flight.
1 2 3 4 5
34. Flight training standards have been relaxed so that it is easier for women to get their ‘wings.’
1 2 3 4 5

Annex D Rotated Factor Solution for FSA Scale
Time for Human Factors Operational Performance Awareness of Limitations

I have no time for ..996 In critical situations (i.e., .537 Accidents generally .567
human factors in concerning gliding), I find occur because people
critical situations. it easy to come up with do not follow the rules.
options and choose
There is no time for .544 between them. Most people think .477
human factors when accidents will never
split-second decisions With respect to flight .519 happen to them.
need to be made. safety, if I am in an
unfamiliar situation, I Most aviation personnel .433
would not hesitate to ask get into trouble because
for help. they do not know their
own limits.
I can always deal with my .486
stress (i.e., so that it does The successful .305
not interfere with my management of a
performance in flying a critical situation is due
glider). solely to operational
experience.
There have been times .486
when I have made serious
mistakes that have
affected my operational
performance. *
In critical situations .433

concerning gliding, I
would probably forget
human factors training
and revert back to my old,
well-practiced ways. *
I would easily be able to .429

tell if I were suffering
from a physical problem
that may affect my
performance (e.g., lack of
rest, flu, cold, improper
nutrition).
I have never let physical .420

problems influence my
performance in the
operational environment
(i.e., when flying a
glider).
*Reverse scored item.


List of symbols/abbreviations/acronyms/initialisms
AGA Aviation Gender Attitudes

AGAQ Aviation Gender Attitudes Questionnaire
CFI Comparative Fit Index
DFS Directorate of Flight Safety
DRDC Defence Research & Development Canada
FC Flight Confidence
FI Faith in Intuition
FP Flight Proficiency
FS Flight Standards
FSA Flight Safety Attitudes
HF Human Factors
M Mean
ML Maximum Likelihood
NFC Need for Cognition
NS Non-significant
R&D Research & Development
REI Rational Experiential Inventory
RMSEA Root Mean Square Error of Approximation
SD Standard Deviation
SEM Structural Equation Modeling
SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
Χ 2
Chi-square statistic

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3. TITLE (The complete document title as indicated on the title page. Its classification is indicated by the appropriate abbreviation (S, C, R, or U) in parenthesis at
the end of the title)
Precursors to Gender Attitudes in the Air Cadet Gliding Population (U)

Signes précurseurs des attitudes liées au sexe chez les Cadets de l'Air pilotant des
planeurs (U)
4. AUTHORS (First name, middle initial and last name. If military, show rank, e.g. Maj. John E. Doe.)
Emily−Ana Filardo; Angela R. Febbraro; Ritu M. Gill
5. DATE OF PUBLICATION 6a NO. OF PAGES 6b. NO. OF REFS
(Month and year of publication of document.) (Total containing information, including (Total cited in document.)
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April 2011 27
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written. Please specify whether project or grant.)
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activity. This number must be unique to this document) sponsor.)
DRDC Toronto 2009−199

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bilingual.)
(U) Directorate of Flight Safety (DFS) data between 1997 and 2007 suggest that a
disproportionate number of female pilots are involved in Canadian air cadet glider
accidents. Research also suggests that commercial aviation continues to be dominated by
“masculine” cultural values and practices, possibly leading to feelings of pressure among
females to perform, as well as prejudicial attitudes towards female aviators (Davey, 2004;
Vermeulen & Mitchell, 2007). Research by Febbraro et al.(2008) also found differential
treatment of males and females in the Canadian air cadet glider training environment. All
of these factors suggest that female air cadets may be exposed to negative attitudes and
expectations and may encounter stereotype threat (i.e., negative gender stereotypes) in
flight situations. Such negative stereotypes or attitudes could, in turn, play a role in the
deficit in performance among female cadets, and possibly contribute to the number of
accidents attributed to females. This study explored the precursors to negative gender
attitudes in an attempt to identify some of the key factors that contribute to stereotype
threat. Structural equation modeling based on survey findings from a sample of male and
female air cadets (N = 211) indicated that an awareness of pilot limitations and rational
thinking patterns predicted aviation gender attitudes (AGA). Knowing the precursors to
negative AGA could point to a mechanism by which these attitudes, and therefore, the
environment encountered by female cadets, may be altered to increase their confidence
and decrease the stereotype threat, thus potentially leading to fewer accidents.
(U) Les données de la Direction de la sécurité des vols de 1997 à 2007 indiquent qu’un
nombre disproportionné de femmes pilotes sont en cause dans les accidents de planeur
chez les Cadets de l’Air au Canada. Les recherches indiquent aussi que l’aviation
commerciale continue à être dominée par les valeurs et pratiques culturelles « masculines
», ce qui peut amener les femmes à se sentir poussées à avoir un rendement impeccable
et mener à des attitudes préjudiciables à l’endroit des femmes pilotes (Davey, 2004;
Vermeulen et Mitchell, 2007). L’étude menée par Febbraro et coll.(2008) révélait
également une différence de traitement entre les hommes et les femmes dans le contexte
de la formation de pilotage de planeurs chez les Cadets de l’Air au Canada. Tous ces
facteurs indiquent que les femmes pilotes peuvent être exposées à des attitudes et à des
attentes négatives ainsi qu’à la menace du stéréotype (stéréotypes négatifs en fonction du
sexe) dans une situation de vol. De telles attitudes ou de tels stéréotypes négatifs
pourraient entraîner une diminution du rendement des cadettes et, ainsi, contribuer au
nombre d’accidents causés par les femmes. Cette étude tente de dégager certains des
facteurs clés qui contribuent à la menace du stéréotype en explorant les signes
précurseurs des attitudes négatives liées au sexe. Une modélisation par équation
structurelle se fondant sur les résultats d’un sondage mené à partir d’un échantillon
d’hommes et de femmes appartenant aux Cadets de l’Air (N = 211) a révélé que la
connaissance des limites des pilotes et les modes de raisonnement rationnel prédisaient
certaines attitudes liées au sexe. La connaissance des signes précurseurs négatifs de ces
attitudes liées au sexe pourrait permettre de trouver un mécanisme par lequel ces
attitudes (et, par conséquent, l’environnement dans lequel se trouvent les cadettes),
peuvent être modifiées pour améliorer leur confiance et diminuer la menace du
stéréotype, ce qui pourrait entraîner une réduction du nombre d’accidents.
14. KEYWORDS, DESCRIPTORS or IDENTIFIERS (Technically meaningful terms or short phrases that characterize a document and could
be helpful in cataloguing the document. They should be selected so that no security classification is required. Identifiers, such as equipment model
designation, trade name, military project code name, geographic location may also be included. If possible keywords should be selected from a published
thesaurus, e.g. Thesaurus of Engineering and Scientific Terms (TEST) and that thesaurus identified. If it is not possible to select indexing terms which are
Unclassified, the classification of each should be indicated as with the title.)
(U) gender attitudes; aviation; gliding; stereotype threat; structural equation modeling
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Precursors to Gender Attitudes in the Air

Cadet Gliding Population

Defence R&D Canada

Defence R&D Canada – Toronto

Original signed by Emily-Ana Filardo

Original signed by Matthew Duncan

Approved for release by

Original signed by Stergios Stergiopoulos

DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 i

ii DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

Precursors to Gender Attitudes in the Air Cadet Gliding Population

DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 iii

iv DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 v

vi DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

Abstract …….. ................................................................................................................................. i

DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 vii

viii DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

Figure 1. Hypothesized SEM predicting attitudes towards women in aviation............................... 3

Table 1. Intercorrelations of factors derived from the FSA scale.................................................... 8

DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 ix

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DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 xi

xii DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 1

Another by-product of stereotype threat, according to Stone (2002), is self-handicapping. In

2 DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

Rational + Aviation Gender

DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 3

4 DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

2.2.1 Flight Safety Attitudes

2.2.2 Rational Experiential Inventory

DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 5

6 DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

3.1 Data Preparation and Screening

3.2 Factor Analysis of Measures

3.2.1 Flight Safety Attitudes

DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 7

2. Operational Performance .06 --

3. Awareness of Limitations .06 .05

3.3 Preliminary Statistics

8 DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199

1. Time for HF .70

2. Operational Performance .05 .66

3. Awareness of Limitations .02 .04 .48

4. Need for Cognition -.14* .17* -.03 .76†

5. Faith in Intuition -.10 .13 .17* -.17** .78

6. Flying Proficiency -.06 -.03 -.13 .20** -.07 .93

7. Safety Orientation .01 -.09 .20** -.15* .19** -.47** .85

3.4 Model Testing

DRDC Toronto TM 2009-199 9

Indicator Male M Male SD Female M Female SD t p d

Time for HF 2.78 0.92 2.68 0.76 0.66 ns .13

Operational Performance 3.62 0.52 3.47 0.61 1.73 ns .26

Awareness of Limitations 3.39 0.63 3.34 0.55 0.49 ns .08

Need for Cognition 3.55 0.71 3.66 0.80 -0.99 ns .15

Faith in Intuition 3.35 0.63 3.41 0.64 -0.63 ns .09

Flight Proficiency 3.23 0.61 3.88 0.66 -6.45 <.01 1.02

Safety Orientation 3.14 0.63 3.39 0.77 -2.27 <.05 .36

7. Safety Orientation .01 -.09 .20** -.15* .19 -.47 .85