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Reshaping gender in airline employment

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Listed:
  • Smith, Whitney E.
  • Cohen, Scott
  • Kimbu, Albert N.
  • de Jong, Anna

Abstract

Air transport and tourism are interdependent systems wherein representations of gender are shaped by organisational cultures. Although airlines have progressed their gender balance, cabin crew work remains archetypically feminine. Taking a feminist poststructuralist approach, this paper uses thematic document analysis to examine how gendered discourses are constituted within airline organisational narratives through text, gestures and symbolic signs. Findings reveal that while airlines work to increase gender equality in employment practices, their efforts predominantly focus on the cockpit, neglecting roles beyond the flight deck. The paper recommends airlines broaden their gender equity focus to all roles and provides a basis for reshaping airlines' gender policies and practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Smith, Whitney E. & Cohen, Scott & Kimbu, Albert N. & de Jong, Anna, 2021. "Reshaping gender in airline employment," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:anture:v:89:y:2021:i:c:s0160738321000967
    DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2021.103221
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Baum, Tom, 2012. "Working the skies: Changing representations of gendered work in the airline industry, 1930–2011," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 1185-1194.
    6. Papatheodorou, Andreas, 2021. "A review of research into air transport and tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
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    1. Smith, Whitney E. & de Jong, Anna & Cohen, Scott & Kimbu, Albert N., 2023. "‘Creamy and seductive’: Gender surveillance in flight attendant work," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).

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