Powering the Eagle.Over 90 Years and Counting: Pratt & Whitney's Inspirational Women (Library of Flight)

From the revolutionary Wasp radial air-cooled aircraft engine in 1925 to the industry-changing technology of today's PurePower® Geared Turbofan™, Powering the Eagle...Over 90 Years and Counting chronicles the contributions of Pratt & Whitney's women professionals and their inspirational workplace journey as aviation pioneers, innovators & role models, inviting the next generation of inspiring women contributors in aerospace.

Pratt & Whitney Aircraft began operation in August 1925 in a spare machine tool factory. Among the earliest company employees were Helen Shockley, Mary Conner, Anna May Reardon, and Marie Wilkinson, the first of numerous inspirational women who have powered the eagle for 90 years.

In the 1920s and 1930s, pioneering women aviators flew with power from Pratt & Whitney's reliable Wasp engine. Amelia Earhardt, Mae Haizlip, Laura Ingalls, Louise Thaden, Blanche Noyes, and Jacqueline Cochran were among those who made their marks in the record books.

Women also debuted as flying hostesses and traffic agents on Pratt & Whitney-powered airplanes operated by airlines such as Northwest. In 1939, the United Aircraft Girls Club was organized with 195 charter members.

The onset of World War II saw profound changes in traditional gender roles brought on by necessity. With large numbers of men overseas in military service, women took to the Pratt & Whitney office and factory floors, their labor necessary to create the airplane engines required to achieve wartime victory. Their tenacity and grit gave rise to the now famous image of Rosie the Riveter and her we can do it attitude.

Whereas women s work roles in the 1940s were viewed as temporary, by the 1950s the jet age had dawned and professional women were in the vanguard as Pratt & Whitney identified the potential and dynamism in both the jet engine and a diverse workforce.

By the twenty-first century, Pratt & Whitney's women continued to exemplify the gold standard for what it means to be an inspirational professional. They are technical innovators, thought leaders, committed career professionals and enthusiastic advocates for the future of aerospace.

Powering the Eagle...Over 90 Years and Counting: Pratt & Whitney's Inspirational Women was compiled by a small team of dedicated women, volunteering their time and passion. The book's conceptual stage began as nothing more than a passing comment during a Pratt & Whitney Women's Council meeting. That is, until the comment turned into a motivational task for one of the people who heard it: A women s recognition book? Why not have a book? We should have a book.

In perfect synchronicity, the newly inspired employee not only had the right background to turn the concept into a reality, she also had the exact Pratt & Whitney experiences to know instantly who else to involve. The dream team took shape, bringing passion and the perfect individual mix of skills and Pratt knowledge to the rapidly growing project.

Past photos portray the Pratt & Whitney woman's early professional story, sometimes in obvious visual ways and sometimes in more subtle context. As Pratt & Whitney's engine legacy grew, so did the expansion of the woman's storyline. Herein, exists a brief photographic mosaic of 90 years of women's contributions as aerospace professionals, giving testimony to the importance of the woman worker yesterday, today and for Pratt & Whitney's future.

To provide an accurate depiction of the changing cultural perception of women in the workplace, a number of articles included in this book were copied exactly as they appeared in their archival source. Each is denoted with a Pratt & Whitney logo. To some, these original articles may seem inappropriate or outdated by today's organizational standards. They serve as a testament to the cultural trends of the day. As this book progresses, the reader will be able to see how different perceptions of women workers were and how far women have come in their professional journey.