Why do you think it took so long for women pilots to be accepted as equal to their male counterparts?

Why do you think it took so long for women pilots to be accepted as equal to their male counterparts, in spite of their many accomplishments over the early years of flight?

The reasons are obvious in the book--women can't handle the stress, the machinery, the obstacles, the mishaps of flying. For goodness sake, at one point they couldn't fly if they had their periods. And while we've come a long way, don't kid yourself, attitudes haven't changed all that much in the last 86 years.

Until women's lib came along, all women were to stay home and take of the family. These female pilots were way out of their designated element. I had trouble back in the 70's when I wanted to be a pilot. I was the only female in my flight school class and when I didn't get a concept, the guys would laugh and say it was something women just didn't know! Even then, men were kidding me about going home to "bake a cake." Even though I was college educated, they didn't think I was smart enough.

i am not so sure attitudes are entirely changed today. Women in many fields today are still considered an exception and not the norm.

To be perfectly blunt, they still aren't to a great number of people.

I'm not sure that they are accepted as equal to males currently.

This is a reflection of the times. Women were expected to stay home until they married and then be wives and mothers. Few women were educated beyond high school and if they went to college the main goal was to meet a man and get married at which time their education ended. Working outside the home was rare and only if the money was really needed by the family.

It’s really sad to think that women and many minorities have been shut out of so many areas, whether it’s career, sports, politics, etc. I love reading historical fiction, but get frustrated by the “norms of the day” that were accepted for so long. And the fact that women who challenged those norms were looked down upon, ridiculed, and shamed. But it took women like these to persevere and bring about change.

It took a long time for women to be accepted in some professions. The school district that I worked for had all male administrators 30 years ago. When I retired from teaching 8 years ago the number of female administrators was equal to males. Hopefully that is changing in other professions also.

The attitude toward women was, and still is, a reflection of the broader culture. At that time both men and women believed that a woman’s place was in the home. The first women pilots were outliers. They were ahead of their time. As pioneers, they helped to pave the way for the rest of us. In many fields women are still struggling to be accepted as “equal.”

Air travel was still so new at that time and men just didn't think women capable of the physical ability and mental compression to handle a plane.

I think it was a sign of the times. While we have made great strides, I think it's something that still occurs today.