BY STEVE STAEDLER
IN ORDER TO SEE THE GROWING IMPACT OF WOMEN IN AVIATION MAINTENANCE, LOOK NO FURTHER THAN COLLEGES, AIRLINES AND THE AEROSPACE MAINTENANCE COMPETITION PRESENTED BY SNAP-ON.
JENNIFER LESHER
Jennifer Lesher had a well-established career as an account manager for Microsoft in Seattle, but something about her choice of occupation didn’t feel right.
Half way around the world, Eman Mandeel was attending business school when she, too, felt like she was on the wrong career path. After much soul searching, both
women did something that many of us dream of but rarely do: they ditched their safe careers and set an entirely new course for themselves in aviation maintenance. “I got to a point in my career
where I started to get restless,” says Lesher. “At the same time, I had this fascination with airplanes and in my free time I was always pursuing this airplane hobby. So, I had the thought, ‘What if I got into a career that actually had to do with this thing I’m so fascinated with?’ “I don’t think any kid ever said, ‘When I grow up I want to become an account manager for a software company.’” Three years later, Lesher, who
now works for a major airline out of Seattle’s SeaTac International Airport, said it was the best decision she’s ever made. Lesher and Mandeel aren’t alone as women pursuing careers in aviation maintenance. In 2015, women comprised 5.2 percent of the estimated 140,000 aircraft mechanics and service technicians in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While that fi gure is modest, it represents an increase in the past 10 years.
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CHALLENGING TRADITIONS Women around the world are learning just how many opportunities are available to them within aviation maintenance — just ask Mandeel. In 2004, Mandeel saw a newspaper article about an apprenticeship
program run through Gulf Air, the national airline of her home country, the Kingdom of Bahrain. The story caught her eye because she always considered
EMAN MANDEEL
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