Despite what airline marketing materials and children’s books would lead us to believe, there aren’t a whole lot of female pilots out there.

While researching this article, a profile on Barbara Bentzin, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and pilot for a major airline, I learned that female pilot licenses have remained relatively flat since the 80s. Shocking, right? What happened to “Women can do anything”?

Regardless, Barbara was a delight to talk to. She flies the state-of-the-art Boeing 787, and after I hung up the phone, I kind of wanted to book a flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia, just for the chance for her to be my pilot.

Photo by Jon Flobrant on Unsplash