Elementary teacher Kate McEntire Wiatt is empowering women with her new documentary showcasing women in aviation and STEM careers. The trailer for Fly Like a Girl popped up on my Facebook feed today and I have never been more excited for a documentary to come out! I decided to dig a little deeper into the background of this film and see what Fly Like A Girl is all about.

Fly Like a Girl Official Trailer from Fly Like a Girl on Vimeo.

Kate was inspired to create this documentary after one of her students said, “Ms. Wiatt, girls just aren’t good at math.” She realized that there are so many stereotypes and socioeconomic limitations keeping women out of certain careers. After doing some research, Kate realized that only around 6% of pilots were female. With many cultural stereotypes surrounding pilots and aviation professionals, Kate decided to focus on the aviation industry for the project.

She set out with a new initiative to tell the stories of women in aviation, and create a film that young girls could look to for examples of women excelling in male dominated roles. The documentary looks at many prominent women throughout the history of aviation, as well as many women who are excelling in the industry today.

An official release date for the film hasn’t been confirmed but the trailer came out last week. An Instagram account was created for the film that has many inspirational posts and interviews that will be featured in the movie. The majority of this project was self funded but the production team decided to start using online fundraising after spending thousands of their own dollars on the project.

I think this film is going to be an amazing breakthrough to inspire young women. Most young women wouldn’t picture themselves in roles like an airline pilot, engineer, or mechanic because they aren’t used to seeing women in those roles. I think the message of this documentary is extremely powerful and after such a great trailer, I can’t wait to watch the full movie!