Motswana female pilot shatters gender stereotypes
Says Botswana can boost economy from investment in aviation industry
NalediNgwato, a Motswana pilot with Fly Dubai in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, says that like most other industries, the aviation sector is still experiencing gender imbalance.
Ngwato spoke to Botswana Guardian this week, following her selection to the Southern African Women in Leadership 2020 Pioneer Awards - which recognise exceptional African women making strides in their careers.
The 35- year- old who was born and raised in Mogoditshane, and studied aviation in Pretoria South Africa, working briefly at Air Botswana before finally relocating to Dubai, said while gender transformation is finally taking root, there are still challenges fuelled by systematic stereotypes.
“There are notable changes, but my desire is to see a reasonable area of gender representation across career sectors and particularly in leadership positions”. Ngwato shared that some of the challenges she had experienced in her career in aviation include the formal and covert organisational practices which upheld gender discrimination and bias. “At the time when I joined Air Botswana, there were only two female pilots and two female engineers. Even though one of the pilots had been with the airline for a long time, there was still no proper uniform for women.
“We would often be given uniform meant for men, and we would then take it to the tailors to have it resized and reshaped to fit us properly. After a lot of protesting from the female pilots, I joined the uniform team in search of companies that could supply us with uniform and chose designs that fit us,” she recalled.
Ngwato also noted that there is still no proper financial support when a female employee goes to maternity. “When a female pilot falls pregnant, she automatically becomes medically unfit to fly aircraft at some point, and that drastically affects her income,” she said.
She said that assumptions about women’s interests and capabilities were also recurring challenges, adding: “I constantly had to work twice as hard to prove myself”. Gender stereotypes have had an impact on her career progression. “It was tough to be overlooked in preference for a junior male counterpart during a promotion, even when I met the required criteria with excellence… that really hit hard.”
She said some of these challenges are systematic, even in the day- to- day working operations. “In the flight deck, there are two pilots who are equally trained and have the same capabilities but of course with different skills- set but most of the time you would find that as a woman, your opinions are undermined by your male counterparts regardless of whether you are the captain or co- pilot,” she said.
Ngwato said being caring and emphatic, for one, which is typically perceived as feminine traits, is often mistaken for weakness. “But if, as a woman, I am competitive, confident and assertive, which is often viewed as masculine traits, I am often criticised or viewed unfavourably. “This makes it challenging for women to fit into the exact parameters expected of us without being seen as overly aggressive. It is my belief that these old- fashioned perceptions and assumptions about women still go unchallenged in the aviation industry.”
One of the highs she has experienced in her career includes working under the mentorship of the first female pilot from Botswana, Captain Sakhile Nyoni, when she was CEO of Air Botswana.
“Her leadership style and approach to aviation was a breath of fresh air, although it was short- lived”. She said another high is finally getting an opportunity to work in professionally balanced environment, and flying one of the latest models of the Boeing aircraft.
Many Batswana pilots often leave the country to ply their trade elsewhere, usually overseas, and Ngwato said this is largely because the industry here has limited opportunities, while man pilots want to grow in knowledge, skills and experience. “There isn’t much room for growth in Botswana, as the largest aircraft one can fly here is a lower medium category aircraft, so more pilots seek opportunities beyond our borders and earn good money while at it.”
Ngwato however said there is great potential for the aviation sector in Botswana. “It is just a matter of choosing to grow, and knowing how and where to create synergy for investment. I used to think the low population here works against us, but as I travelled to other countries, I noticed that some nations create hubs and invest in creating points of interest to attract people to visit or pass through their country when going to their destinations.
“For Botswana, aviation and tourism should work hand in hand; a good investment in both industries would boost the economy of Botswana greatly,” she advised.