IN AVIATION
herself mechanically inclined as she and her dad were the “handymen” around the house, always taking things apart and fixing them. Plus, she really wasn’t happy studying business in school. “I asked my dad what he thought about me applying for the apprenticeship program, and he said, ‘if it’s your dream, then go for it,’” she says. And that’s exactly what she did. Mandeel took the entrance exams and was accepted into the program, which saw her spend two years in Australia and, upon her return to Bahrain, becoming the first female licensed aircraft maintenance engineer at Gulf Air. “It takes a lot to be the only
woman in a traditionally male- dominated field, but I took on the challenge, working hard to ensure my peers saw me as an equal and over time I was accepted by my colleagues and even mentored by them. Mr. Adel Frutan, who is now my manager, is one of the few that mentored me” she says.
The culture has changed quite
a bit from those early days for Mandeel. Today, Gulf Air has about 30 female technicians on staff or in the apprenticeship program. “It’s a lot easier now for women
in aviation maintenance,” she said. “I think woman have more freedom now than what they had before. They’re a lot more educated and have greater choices – there are fewer cultural barriers today to women in the workplace. The notion that women need to stay home and take care of the kids is far from the norm and we are seeing more and more women in a broad spectrum of roles – including stereotypically male roles.” Mandeel and her husband, an
aviation maintenance engineer for Gulf Air, have two children. Facing challenges early in her
career is something that Mandeel puts to good use every day on the job. “I’m driven to prove that women can do anything,” she said. “There’s nobody to tell us that just because you’re a woman, you can’t do this job.”
TEACHING THE NEXT
GENERATION This sentiment that women can accomplish anything in aviation maintenance that their male counterparts can is something Selena MacFadden preaches often to her students at South Seattle Community College in
SELENA MACFADDEN
Washington. MacFadden, a former A&P and IA technician with more than 30 years of management and maintenance experience working primarily on helicopters, said the mentality of the industry is changing and more welcoming to people of all genders and races. “I remember first getting hired as
a 21-year-old female and feeling like I was filling a quota,” she said. “But I think opportunities are opening up and women are proving they can produce just like me. I think it’s reasonable to say that (aviation maintenance) is open to everybody.” MacFadden said about 10 of the estimated 200 students enrolled in South Seattle’s Aviation Maintenance Technician program are women. In her entry-level AMT 111 class, she tries to get her students to look beyond skin color or sexes and see everyone as equal mechanics working on the same team. “Regardless of your sex, being a good mechanic takes somebody with good morals, values, ethics, a commitment to follow the procedures and do the job consistently by the book,” she says.
Terry Dunkin, an instructor in
the aviation maintenance program at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, IA, agrees. “If students are detailed oriented,
take pride in their work and really believe in what they’re doing, then this is a field that can’t be beat because it opens so many doors,” he says. “Pride in workmanship and willingness to do the details is the secret to becoming a successful technician, whether you’re male or female.” Four of the 44 students currently
enrolled in Indian Hills’ 21-month aviation maintenance program are women. Dunkin notes that the number of women in the program fluctuates from year to year, but has been steadily rising lately. Taylor Powell is one of the four female students Duncan teaches this
TAYLOR POWELL
year. The 21-year-old was introduced to aviation maintenance when she joined the Army National Guard three years ago. She enjoyed her job in the Army, and that served as the catalyst for enrolling at Indian Hills. After graduating this spring, she’d like to get a job doing maintenance in general aviation. She says that studying a profession that exists within a male-dominated industry still raises eyebrows. “Whenever people ask me what I’m going to school for, I tell them I’m getting my A&P license. Their reaction is, ‘Really, you’re going to be an aircraft mechanic?’ I feel like I’m just kicking the trend of what society view women traditionally doing,” she says.
TAKING HOLD OF YOUR CAREER One place where women continue to make their presence felt is the Aerospace Maintenance Competition
WOMEN
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DOMmagazine.com | mar 2017
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