Following accusations of discrimination by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Qatar Airways has eased its policy of restricting female cabin crew from getting married or becoming pregnant. The ILO accused the airline for its policy of firing women staff if they married within their first five years of employment or became pregnant. Women’s contracts included the following clause: “The company reserves the right to automatically terminate your contract as a flying cabin crew member should you become pregnant.” It also required staff to obtain prior permission of the company should they wish to get married. The airline eased its policies after the accusations. Under new contracts, pregnant women have the option of temporarily working in ground jobs and can marry after notifying the company.

Women under-represented on the flight deck

While the aviation industry may be growing by leaps and bounds with each passing year, the number of women entering the profession remains stagnant.

According to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, out of 160,000 pilots, only 8500 or 5,5% were women, 2400 of were captains.

Women discriminated on the basis of their size and appearance at Aeroflot

Flight attendants are another group that has been conditioned by their physique in order to be able to carry out their work. They must conform to specific standards of weight, figure, complexion, straight teeth, and facial regularity. It is currently mandatory for women cabin crew to wear a makeup base, mascara, lipstick, and nails perfectly cared for and coloured in discreet tones. Moreover, hair must be collected in a ponytail or a bun, without considering that this type of hairdo can harm afro hair. In many companies, the uniform protocol during the flight indicates that women must wear low heels (3 to 5 cm) and to embark, disembark and walk through the terminal a high heel (5 to 10 cm). Men are also forced to follow specific standards, such as shaving if they have a thick beard and wearing a flawless manicure. Physical appearance is considered so important that airlines, such as Emirates or Qatar Airways, ask for a full body photo on the resume to access an interview with the company. 2017 was the first time a judge had partially ruled in favour of two flight attendants from the Russian company Aeroflot. The two workers accused their employer of gender discrimination before a Moscow court for suffering salary discrimination due to being over 40 years old and over the size 42. Similarly, the company had relegated these two flight attendants to domestic flights, which were shorter and took place during a worse timetable. Aeroflot representatives previously acknowledged that such a policy was in place. The case of gender discrimination was rejected at first instance in local courts. The women took their case to a second instance and a hearing at the national court in Moscow. The court partially agreed with the women’s accusations and ordered Aeroflot to compensate them for lost earnings.

How corporate literature shapes and reshapes gender subjectivities in the aviation industry

The rarity of images which depict a female pilot/male flight attendant and the power of visual imagery to uphold stereotypical gendered scripts contribute to the manifestation of gender stereotypes in aviation. Gendered meanings are crafted through airline texts, signs and gestures. Furthermore, the language used to describe the qualities of an ‘ideal’ candidate for certain roles were nonetheless imbued with gendered meaning. For example, despite there being no reference to pilots as primarily male, the stated qualities of an ideal pilot included strong-mindedness, courage, and technical prowess- all of which are traditionally masculinised. While the symbolism of aviation documentation indicates a conscious effort to subvert the traditional female flight attendant/ male pilot tropes, ultimately the understanding of what gender equality in aviation means needs to be expanded. That being sad, gender equality is not just granting women access to prestigious roles within tourism organisations, but in fact guaranteeing them parity at every level.

Occupational health in aviation 

Another feminised job category with health risks is air hostesses. This workforce not only presents a higher prevalence of cancer in the reproductive system, like other cancers caused by the continued radiations inside planes but it is also directly connected with an increase in infertility, miscarriage, premature delivery, and foetus abnormality. At the same time, veteran air hostesses manifest sleep disorders, fatigue, and depression that could trigger chronic fatigue, alcohol abuse to keep up the workday, sinusitis and foot surgeries caused by standing for a long period of time.