She convinced him that the presence of women nurses would help relieve the traveling public’s fear of flying.
A nurse from Iowa, Ellen Church wanted to become an airline pilot but realized that wasn’t possible for a woman in her day. So in 1930 she approached Steve Stimpson at Boeing Air Transport with the novel idea of placing nurses aboard airliners. She convinced him that the presence of women nurses would help relieve the traveling public’s fear of flying. Church developed the job description and training program for the first stewardesses.