Nerita Somers is among only three women of Indian origin to have trained as a commercial pilot in Australia.
Nerita was born in South Africa and came to Australia with her family in 1999.
“Coming from an Indian family, they wanted me to get a stable job, that was paramount and so I studied commerce”, says Nerita.”
However, Nerita says she grew up with a love for aviation and planes and remembers with fondness how her grandfather, took her and her younger brother to the annual aviation shows.
"I went to these shows but never saw any female pilots! I kept reading about aviation and my interest kept growing. I was especially inspired by Anny Divya, the youngest woman commander of Boeing 777 who is a pilot with Air India," Nerita says.
In 2017 Nerita decided to go intor aviation as a career.
Source: Supplied
She says, “My father and I have a very good relationship and though he was a bit anxious to start with, seeing my passion he gave me all his blessings.”
She wrote her aviation exam successfully and was so delighted that it’s now her mission to inspire other women to take up aviation as a hobby or a career.
The biggest challenge she says was being a female and at that, one of a different racial background.
Source: Supplied
“I don’t see any female commercial pilots looking like me, so I hope to change the dynamics. The other challenge was not having any role models in the industry and I hope to change that.”
A recent study by the International Society of Women Airline Pilots found that India has the highest proportion of female commercial pilots in the world at 12 per cent - twice as high as in most western countries, including the United States. Globally less than five per cent of pilots are women.
The message Nerita gives other young women is to go for it, without thinking of any negativities or expectations of what paths women should pursue. “At the end of the day, you are the captain of your ship.”
Air India says it has set a world record by flying around the world with an all-female crew. Source: AAP
Nerita hopes to get her commercial pilot license by 2019.
