Author

Paul Cline

Date of Award

5-1-2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Aviation

First Advisor

Dr. Kimberly Kenville

Abstract

Women have been a part of aviation since its inception, yet they have been traditionally underrepresented in the ranks of commercial pilots. This study explored what role mentoring played in the lives and careers of female Airline Transport Pilots (ATP). Participants completed a modified version of the Mentor Role Instrument (MRI) developed by Ragins and McFarlin.

It was determined that there was no statistically significant difference between female ATP who had been mentored and those who had not. Of the female ATP who had been mentored, those who reported an informal mentoring relationship rated their relationship higher than those who reported a formal mentoring relationship when it came to career oriented assistance and advice. The results for mentoring factors related to psychosocial needs and activities are less certain, but the preponderance of evidence supports the assertion that those female ATP who reported an informal mentoring relationship were more satisfied in these areas than their formal mentor counterparts.

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