International Women's Day. Let's start the celebration.

C: Helloeveryone, thanks for tuning in to 5 Minutes with AOPA-China. I’m your friendClaire.

N:Helloguys, I’m Nick.

C:Todayis not only just Friday. Today is a special day.

N:March8th, International Women’s Day! The day is not country, group ororganization specific - and belongs to all groups collectively everywhere.

Gloria Steinem, world-renowned feminist, journalistand activist once explained "The story of women's struggle for equalitybelongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collectiveefforts of all who care about human rights."

C:International Women's Day (IWD) has been observed since the early 1900's - atime of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that sawbooming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. International Women's Day isall about unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy and action - whatever thatlooks like globally at a local level. But one thing is for sure, InternationalWomen's Day has been occurring for well over a century - and continues to growfrom strength to strength.

So,Nick, what could you tell us about women in aviation?
N: The most familiar role to the general public would be flight attendants, whotake care of the passengers during flight. They are also responsible foreducating the passengers on flight safety measures and maintaining orders andefficiency in case of mid-flight emergencies. They are so much more than just apretty face.

Also,in recent years, more and more women are joining the flight crew as pilots. Accordingto the statistics of last year, there are 713 female pilots working in flightdecks for airlines in China.

C:Inaddition to their role in commercial airlines, there are many women who areoperating small aircraft. You would find them among the best aerobatic pilots andearthrounders. There is an International Organization of Women Pilots called Ninety-Nines,working to provide networking, mentoring and flight scholarship opportunitiesto recreational and professional female pilots.

N:Theorganization was founded by legendary aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart in 1929.She was the first woman to fly solo across Atlantic Ocean, and the first personever to fly solo from Hawaii to the US mainland. A true hero in aviationhistory. Or should I say HERSTORY?

C:Asof 2018, there are 155 Ninety-nines chapters across globe. Chinese chapter wasfounded in 2015, and we are very privileged to have Ada, the first chairman ofthe Chinese chapter here. Let’s hear from her. .

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C:Iguess the feeling of freedom is a true privilege to all the pilots who sharethe experience in flying.

N:There’sa special group of girls who are not pilots or cabin attendants, but theyexperience flying more intimately than almost anyone. They defy death with aseries of breathtaking stunts on the wings of a plane at an altitude ofthousands of feet. They often make performance in air shows. We call them wingwalkers. Brave, fearless, intrepid, dauntless , these words could never betruer when you see them dancing in the sky.

C:Amongthe workforce who make the planes fly and run the airports, there are many morewomen who work as ground staff, flight dispatch officers, security officers,designers, engineers, aircraft manufacture operators, managers…You name it. Iremember meeting a veteran lady aircraft mechanic who made and fixed B-17bombers during World War II in EAA a few years back. The aviation history isthe history made by all the brave, dedicated and diligent women and men who striveto put humans in the sky and even in outer space.

N:International Women's Day 2019 theme is #BalanceforBetter. The future isexciting. Let's do our part in building a gender-balanced world. Everyone has apart to play – we celebrate today, and we have to put in the work every day,everywhere.

C:Thatbrings us to the end of today’s 5 Minutes with AOPA-China. You know where tofind us: Wechat, Facebook, Twitter, Ximalaya and Apple podcast. Leave us anycomments and messages. See you next week.