March 9, 2023

The sky’s the limit for Julie Beverstein. The School of Aviation graduate has been a pilot for more than 22 years and has blazed a trail helping countless other women along the way.

The first female pilot on Jazz Aviation’s Flight Operations Management team — a position she started in August 2019 — also serves on the board of the Northern Lights Aero Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes women in aviation and aerospace.

Ms. Beverstein credits Seneca with giving her the foundation and opportunity to really soar – whether working as a flight instructor, which she did from 2002 to 2020 or serving, as she still does, on the Honours Bachelor of Aviation Technology degree program advisory committee.

“Seneca has always been like a home,” Ms. Beverstein said, noting it has a strong aviation program.

Ms. Beverstein is among the approximately eight per cent of female pilots with commercial airplane licences in the country. About 195 new licences were issued to women last year compared with 1,320 to men, according to Transport Canada.

When Ms. Beverstein was a student, she was one of five women in a class of 36. However, about 40 per cent of the flight instructor team were women.

“After I graduated, I was often the only woman in classroom or flight deck situations," she said. "So, I learned to fit in.”

Ms. Beverstein landed her first job as a pilot in 2006 with Air Georgian. In 2009, she moved to Porter, where she worked for a decade, taking on recruitment responsibilities and helping bridge the gender gap among flight crew. Today, close to 14 per cent of their pilots are women.

“There’s a lot more support for women in the field now,” Ms. Beverstein said. “Plus, there’s demand.”

At Jazz, Ms. Beverstein oversees about 600 pilots in Toronto. Approximately six to eight per cent of the pilots are female. She hired 160 pilots last year and is looking to hire 180 this year.

Sarah Arliss, Chair, School of Aviation, called Ms. Beverstein a great aviator.

“She is an advocate,” said Ms. Arliss. “And she always has time to chat with young women about a career as a commercial airline pilot, or in the many other industries where women can fly.”

About 14 per cent of Seneca’s flight instructors and degree students are women, Ms. Arliss added. “We would like to see that number increase substantially.”

Kaitlin Thomas, who graduated from the Honours Bachelor of Aviation Technology program in 2020 and is now a First Officer with Jazz, said Ms. Beverstein has been a great role model.

“Her work ethic and accomplishments in aviation are beyond inspiring.”

As for Ms. Beverstein, she simply loves to fly.

“It’s absolutely awesome.”

Women of Aviation Worldwide Week (WOAW):

WOAW is celebrated annually during the week of March 8 to mark the anniversary of the world’s first female pilot licence, which was issued on that date in 1910. It is a call to address gender imbalance in the air and space industry.