I decided to do a written interview.

Interviewer :Hello everyone. I’m doing a project based on sexism in the airline industry. I wanted to inform people more about what flight attendants face and how they feel about this.That’s why I decided to write and create this interview.My goal is to inform my hospitality professional community about it. 

Interviewer : For this week’s interview we have a guest who might answer all your questions about the controversies in the aviation world.Please tell us a little about yourself.

Ms. Davis: Hello,my name is Bella Davis . I’m a flight attendant with 25 years of experience. Being a flight attendant has not been easy for the past 25 years. There were some good and bad times but it is something I always enjoyed doing .(Prefer not to mention the airline).

Interviewer:Becoming a flight attendant might be someone’s dream career but it can be very tough to handle.I did some research and it seems like sexism is quite a big issue in the airline industry. Is that true ?Do you agree with Ms.Davis?

Ms.Davis: Yes , sadly it is true . Sexism in the airline industry is a concerning issue. Many flight attendants have surely  experienced some type of sexism once in their career. In Fact also  my colleagues I have worked with have been in this situation sadly for example some of them were criticized for their physical appearance and some had been harassed while working. 

Interviewer: Can you please say that in more detail ? Are you saying that you are required to look in a specific way ? While I did some research I saw articles about different ways airlines used to sexulize female flight attendants like their uniforms etc. Is it still like that ?

Ms.Davis : Back in the 70s and 90s uniforms,physical appearance was very important to the airline companies. Some airlines had very high expectations and requirements for example you had to be at a certain weight, you needed to have clear skin etc  and we can still see these discrimation being made towards until now.If I’m not wrong , Air India has very strict rules and requirements when it comes to hiring recruiting flight attendants. They want them to be at a specific age,unmarried , no scars or pimples,and must be attractive looking thin,tall and fair. which is ridiculous because they want their male passengers to have a pleasurable moment while they’re flying. Uniforms are another important one because many airlines required their crew to wear revealing and uncomfortable clothes which led to many harassment cases. I think one of the Japanese airline companies made flight attendants wear ‘miniskirts’ which is absurd because during the flight we constantly have to look out for passengers on board.Like we have to reach the overhead cabin’s to open and close or help passengers when they need help. Therefore it can be very uncomfortable to do with those miniskirts and this is the reason why harassment will occur. Obviously they’re main point is to find ways to promote themselves and that’s why they come up with these ridiculous requirements.I  hope to see more changes like this.

Interviewer: Wow that is unbelievable. I’m so shocked to hear this. Recruiting them based on how they look is absolutely not right and shows how sexist they are. I agree when you mentioned they are using them to promote their brands. I saw another article about  those sexist  advertisements during the 1900’s. It basically meant people viewed flight attendants like object.What do you say about these ? You mentioned that your colleagues you have worked with faced some type of sexism while they’re flying. Can you please give us some stories or examples about it ?Have you seen any improvements being made ? 

Ms.Davis: I’m not exactly sure but those posters or advertisements were real.It was a way of promoting their brand by using them and making them seem like they’re objects. Some of the challenges they faced while they were working was when usually passengers try to grab or touch their behinds,snapping their pictures without asking for their permission. One of my colleagues told me about the time when she was followed around the hotel and the guy stayed right next door.She mentioned that in the middle of the night he came next to her room and started whispering offensive sexual marks.She said that she was so afraid after that. Over the years,I have not really seen any changes. In fact, some of the requirements I have mentioned can still disqualify  you from getting a cabin crew job. Some of the changes that were made was in 1960’s when two flight attendants formed a group to take actions about the discrimation against women in the airline industry.They filed a lawsuit.While not all lawsuits and complaints were successful especially about weight requirements. But it created employment opportunities for women ,their uniforms became more professional and less revealing .They educated the public about the realities of their work and empowered each other to speak against their demeaning treatment. 

Interviewer: Since you said getting harassed is a common thing flight attendants have to face ,do airlines prevent this from happening? Do they notify you or in any way tell you to be prepared or how to deal with sexual abuse at work?

Ms.Davis:Unfortunately,no . Maybe some airlines do but never really heard of it.I think this is something that should be taught when your training but they don’t tell you about this stuff.Most of the flight attendant do not know or have no knowledge of guidance on passenger-on-passenger sexual assault.Airlines can prevent this from happening by informing the public for the safety of their employees but they chose not to . Why ? Well maybe because the airline industry is run by men, there’s not a single woman who serves as the CEO of airline companies.I think this is the answer to your question.

Interviewer: That definitely answered my question. Is there anything else you want to add and say anything to the future flight attendants or to the hospitality professionals?

Ms.Davis: First of all , I want to say thank you for having me speak about this. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for quite a while now because I really wanted to inform people specifically to those who dream of becoming a flight attendant and also students of the hospitality community  about the discrimantion against women in the airline industry and what they have to go through everyday. I think I expressed myself and my opinions very well. I hope it is something useful that people can reflect on and I really hope to see changes being made to the industry. Thank you.

Interviewer: Thank you for accepting this interview. I think this was very helpful information about sexism in the airline industry . I’m definitely excited to share this with my hospitality community and hope they find this useful.Also thank you to my hospitality community for spending their time reading this .I hope you find this useful and informative.