Call for more female air ambulance pilots and medics on International Women's Day

Picture of East Anglian Air Ambulance
The East Anglian Air Ambulance is encouraging more women to join the life-saving charity Credit: ITV Anglia

Female pilots and medics are being encouraged to join the East Anglian Air Ambulance to mark International Women's Day today.

The life-saving charity, which covers East Anglia from its bases in Norwich and Cambridge, has female staff but would like a more even split of frontline men and women.

Some of the female pilots, medics and trustees at the East Anglian Air Ambulance Charity Credit: East Anglian Air Ambulance

More than half of the charity’s directors and senior managers at EAAA are female. However, when it comes to the charity’s frontline teams, these are largely made up of male colleagues. The divide is as follows: Paramedics – 17 male / 3 female, Doctors – 30 male / 14 female and Pilots – 17 male / 1 female.

The aviation industry is even less diverse, with male pilots making up 95% of all commercial pilots in the UK. 

Henrietta Davies, EAAA's only female pilot Credit: East Anglian Air Ambulance

People are being encouraged to join a live, open, virtual panel discussion tonight at 8pm with the aim to encourage, celebrate and inspire the next generation and spark meaningful conversations around equality.

Dr Pam Chrispin, Deputy Medical Director at EAAA Credit: EAAA

The event can be accessed from the EAAA website and will be streamed live on the EAAA Facebook page.