Thanks Mitch, but that reply was not finished and not
meant to be posted yet.

On a more serious note, there's another point I'd like
to add.

I've noticed that a large number of the older male
pilots in soaring didn't start out flying in gliders.
Many are ex-airline and military pilots. While these
occupations were glorified to young boys back in the
day, women were discouraged from pursuing them. An
all-female flight crew is still newsworthy, and women
are still a small minority of airline captains.

The percentage of young women vs. young men in soaring
is rising but the overall number of youth in soaring
is still low. WSPA is working wonders offering scholarships
to young women and offering a fun week-long seminar
once a year.

If you want more women in soaring, take a proactive
stance yourself. Go take your niece/sister/wife/daughter/friend
for a ride and buy her an intro lesson or two. If they
love it, then you've just introduced another diehard
to soaring.