Refilwe Ledwaba: The Impactful Pilot Woman

Refilwe Ledwaba is a South African woman of many hats, hats that she wears with grace. In what has been traditionally a patriarchal society, the opportunities available for women to pursue their interest and excel have been greatly diminished. Some women have defied the odds stacked against them and gone on to excel in fields or areas dominated by men. She has defied the odds to join the league of women who strive for nothing but the best, and seek to pull others to the same level; greater heights.

According to a report by Rebecca Lutte of the University of Nebraska in Omaha, the aviation industry is a largely male denominated industry as evidenced by the fact that women make up less than 10% of the entire workforce, including pilots, airline executives, and aeronautical and other maintenance technicians. Ms. Ledwaba falls in this small niche of women who have made inroads into the sector and are exceling in the male-dominated aviation industry.  Ms. Ledwaba is a qualified and certified fixed wing aircrafts pilot, as well as a qualified and certified helicopter pilot. Indeed, she is the first African woman pilot for the national police service in South Africa, over and above being the first woman to hold the highest license and certification to fly helicopters in South Africa.

Without downplaying her achievements, the self-styled educator, scholar, professional, and youths and women’s rights activists is more focused on elevating others in the society, particularly the marginalized girl-child.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Fellow, whose passion is to see women excel in different fields traditionally dominated by men, founded and runs the Girls Fly Programme in Africa (GFPA). It is a foundation that seeks to introduce and encourage girls in different levels of education, elementary and secondary schools levels, to science, technology, and mathematics, with an objective of providing them with a career path in STEM-related professions, which are largely dominated by men. Interviewed recently, Ms. Ledwaba averred that the different programs run under GFPA have impacted more than 100,000 lives, particularly girls and youths drawn from all over Africa, who were empowered to pursue their dreams.

Evidently, Ms. Ledwaba, the social entrepreneur, is very passionate about education and women empowerment. She is also actively engaged in fostering development in Africa in support of the pursuit and achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which is in line with her activities as a Girl’s education advocate, youth development, and the foundation she runs. Ms. Ledwaba, in excelling in a male-dominated field globally, amidst other challenges posed by the social structures and disadvantages of being raised in a patriarchal society demonstrates that regardless of the constraints that a person may face, imposed by social constructs and norms, it is possible to excel.

Over and above the achievements she has accumulated under her belt, she goes on to demonstrate the importance of putting in place measures and initiatives aimed at alleviating the general standards of the marginalized and the disadvantaged, to ensure that they have equal opportunities in the society. She epitomizes strength, determination, resilience, and a desire to help others in the society; what is human about being human.

Important Links

Techwomen.org ;Digitalcommons; Linkedin