Gender-Related Perceptions and Stress, Anxiety, and Depression on the Flight Deck

This study explored gender-related perceptions among male and female pilots and the extent to which such perceptions may cause workplace stress, anxiety, or depression which may affect female pilots. This study utilized two measuring instruments on a sample that consisted of 83 pilots. The two measurement instruments used where the Aviation Gender Attitude Questionnaire (AGAQ) to measure gender bias and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) to measure stress, depression, and anxiety among female pilots. There was a significant difference found between men and women across all AGAQ factors. While the results of this study concurred with research that suggests that female pilots are at greater risk for negative perceptions and sexism by male pilots, the results did not indicate any greater degrees of depression, stress, or anxiety in women as compared with their male counterparts.