There’s a half-eaten party bag of Hershey’s Kisses hidden in the closet. My foam roller sits on the floor amidst some dust bunnies. I'm in my "office," Zooming in from my bed discussing the imperatives of cultural change in Aviation because it’s the only partly quiet place in the house. My Littles are living their best lives just outside my door. It sounds like a good night at a pub out there. I notice, in live time, that one of my pillows has made an appearance - my polka dot pillowcase on display for all to see. Not fantastic, but authentic.
Trying to get some work done and having space for some unobtrusive discernment, away from humans, is impossible these days. We are continuously told to put our mask on first and “Get some self-care, girl!”
But whose mask goes on first? It's NOT that simple.
All caretakers know this and understand it fully. We hear things like, "You’ve got to duck and weave.” Or “Bend like the willow.” While these are great ideals to ascribe to, they don’t translate to authenticity. Indeed, not for the thousands of mothers struggling to keep up in Aviation.
Being a female aviator is not an agnostic experience, but that’s often how it is apportioned. We are not considered as mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, friends, and community members.
Though, all those other hats we end up brandishing carry a wealth of skills and experience... if we are allowed to integrate them.
We are uniquely disallowed. We must choose between the thing we love and the people we love without consideration of the benefit of any crossover. No one is a singular human, exclusive of other proficiencies.
If you are a caretaker in aviation with a partner, the amount of planning and re-planning can be exhausting and a job in and of itself. Once you figure it out, life changes. The only constant for you IS change, which makes it hard to offer your skills to anyone in the current state.
You also may be a solo or single parent, making the pressure exponentially more than those with at least a partner. The pandemic has dramatically reduced our ability to rely on our community of grandparents and other relatives, friends, and neighbors who may have previously picked up the slack in a pinch.
We are out of slack. We need a different plan other than “more rope.”
And sure, we could turn and juke and jive our way into what preceding iterations of the Aviation industry are being offered. Or we could step up and imagine something better and brighter. We could do the hard work now and pull everyone up after us to prevent the lack of critical skills that will surely come with the new. We recognize the approaching generations desire to engage with companies and organizations that value their time and conditions outside of the workplace.
A reckoning is upon us. We invite you to walk with us now and build something that embraces all, instead of forcing a square peg into a round hole.
Sincerely,
Jessica Webster
Founder & President
Jessica is a mom, partner, pilot, and the Founder & President of Hera Aviation Group. She enjoys long flights in Class A Airspace interacting with one ATC at a time.
She also loves to laugh with her grandmother, watch reality TV, dance with her Littles, drink a Starbucks that has a ridiculously long drink order, and shop for really cool trainers.
She loves the sky but her truly happy place is on the water.