De-gendering the Occupation: Exploring Gender-based Career Challenges Experienced by Female Flight Attendants

Year 2024, Volume: 11 Issue: 2, 652 - 667, 31.10.2024

Özge Yanıkoğlu

https://doi.org/10.17336/igusbd.1231093

Abstract

Considering that flight attendant is one of the most gender-stereotyped jobs, this study aims to explore gender-based challenges experienced by female flight attendants throughout their careers. In order to reach the research objectives, an open-ended questionnaire is conducted to 90 flight attendants working in 4 airlines in Turkey. The findings of the study reveal that female flight attendants are experiencing several gender-based challenges, such as being subjected to strict make-up requirements, facing society's negative prejudice, confronting sexual harassment from passengers and colleagues, having trouble establishing authority, and dealing with difficulties associated with a woman-dominated workplace. The study especially reveals the psychological challenges female flight attendants face in the workplace and in their daily lives. The findings and the associated recommendations provided to society and the airline company management aim to create a psychologically and physiologically healthier working environment for female flight attendants and support their career advancement.

Keywords

Gender, Aesthetic Labour, Sexual Harassment, Female Flight Attendants, Healthy Workplace

Mesleğin Cinsiyetini Azaltmak: Kadın Uçuş Görevlilerinin Yaşadığı Cinsiyete Dayalı Kariyer Zorluklarını Keşfetmek

Abstract

Kabin memurluğu cinsiyete ilişkin basmakalıp yargıların en çok görüldüğü mesleklerden biridir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, kadın kabin memurlarının meslek hayatları boyunca karşılaştıkları cinsiyete dayalı zorlukları keşfetmektir. Araştırma amaçlarına ulaşmak için Türkiye'de 4 havayolunda görev yapan 90 uçuş görevlisine açık uçlu anket uygulanmıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçları, kadın kabin memurlarının zorunlu makyaj kurallarına tabi olma, toplumun olumsuz ön yargısıyla karşı karşıya kalma, yolcu ve meslektaşları tarafından cinsel tacize uğrama, yolcular üzerinde otorite kurma konusunda zorlanma ve kadın yoğunluklu bir ortamda çalışma ile ilgili çeşitli zorluklar yaşadıklarını ortaya koymaktadır. Özellikle, bu çalışma, kadın kabin memurlarının çalışma yerinde ve günlük yaşamlarında karşılaştıkları psikolojik zorlukları ortaya koymaktadır. Araştırma bulgularına dayanarak geliştirilen öneriler, kadın kabin memurları için daha psikolojik ve fizyolojik olarak daha sağlıklı bir çalışma ortamı yaratmayı ve onların mesleki ilerlemelerine destek olmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

Cinsiyet, Estetik Emek, Cinsel Taciz, Kadın Uçuş Görevlileri, Sağlıklı İşyeri

References

• AGAMPODI, S.B., DHARMARATNE, S.D., & AGAMPODI, T.C. (2009). Incidence and predictors of on-board injuries among Sri Lankan flight attendants. BMC Public Health, 9, 227.
• AKERSTEDT, T. (2003). Shift work and disturbed sleep/wakefulness. Occupational Medicine, 53(2), 89-94.
• AMNER, G., & RYDEN, O. (2001). Arbetssituation och stresshantering hos kabinpersonal [Cabin attendants’ work situation and manner of coping with stress]. Vinnova Report, 4, 1-88.
• ARENDT, J. (2010). Shift work: Coping with the biological clock. Occupational Medicine, 60(1), 10-20.
• AYUTTACORN, A. (2016). Air crafting: Corporate mandate and Thai female flight attendants’ negotiation of body politics. South East Asia Research, 24(4), 462-476.
• BANKS, J.O., AVERS, K.E., NESTHUS, T.E., & HAUCK, E.L. (2012). A comparative study of international flight attendant fatigue regulations and collective bargaining agreements. Journal of Air Transport Management, 19, 21-24.
• BARGER P.B., & GRANDEY, A.A. (2006). Service with a smile and encounter satisfaction: emotional contagion and appraisal mechanisms. Academy of Management, 49(6), 1229–1238.
• BARRY, K.M. (2007). Femininity in flight: a history of flight attendants. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
• BATES, L. (2017). Vile high club: why is sexism so prevalent at 40,000ft? TheGuardian. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2017/feb/15/vile-high-club-why-is-sexism-so-prevalent-at-40000ft (accessed 30 March 2023).
• BATRES, C., RUSSELL, R., SIMPSON, J.A., CAMPBELL, L., HANSEN, A.M., & CRONK, L. (2018). Evidence that make-up is a false signal of sociosexuality. Personality and Individual Differences, 122, 148–154.
• BISWAS, M. (2009). Aesthetic labour in India: locating and mapping the mind of the practitioners – an application of CHAID algorithm. Journal of Services Research, 9(2), 81–103.
• BOLES, J.S., WOOD J.A., & JOHNSON, J. (2003). Interrelationships of role conflict, role ambiguity, and work–family conflict with different facets of job satisfaction and the moderating effects of gender. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 23(2), 99-113.
• BULLOCK, C. (2018). What dress codes really mean for cabin crew. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180219-what-dress-codes-really-mean-for-cabin-crew (accessed 30 March 2023).
• CHANG, C.P., & CHIU J.M. (2009). Flight Attendants’ Emotional Labor and Exhaustion in the Taiwanese Airline Industry. Journal of Service Science & Management, 2(4), 305-311.
• CHEN, C., & CHEN, S. (2012). Burnout and work engagement among cabin crew: antecedents and consequences. The International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 22(1), 41-58.
• CHUNG, C.T., & CHUNG, U.L. (2009). An Exploration of Quality of Life and Related Factors Among Female Flight Attendants. Journal of Nursing Research, 17(3), 212-220.
• COSTA, G., HAUS, E., & STEVENS, R. (2010). Shift Work and Cancer: Considerations on Rationale, Mechanisms, and Epidemiology. Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment & Health, 36(2), 163-179.
• DAILYMAIL (2014). Skirts 'too short' and blouses 'too tight': Cathay Pacific air stewardesses complain uniform is too revealing. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2621278/Skirts-short-blouses-tight-Cathay-Pacific-air-stewardesses-complain-uniform-revealing.html (accessed 30 March 2023).
• DATAUSA (2020). Flight Attendants Demographics. https://datausa.io/profile/soc/flight-attendants (accessed 30 March 2023).
• DICKMAN, A. & EAGLY, A. (2000). Stereotypes as dynamic constructs: Women and men of the past, present, and future. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 1171-1188
• EAGLY, A.H. & STEFFEN, V.J. (1984). Gender stereotypes stem from the distribution of women and men into social roles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 735-754
• EEOC (2020). Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Facts About Sexual Harassment. https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment (accessed 30 March 2023).
• EIGE (n.d.). What is gender-based violence? https://eige.europa.eu/gender-based-violence/what-is-gender-based-violence (accessed 30 March 2023).
• ENCK, P., MULLER-SACKS, E., HOLTMANN, G., & WEGMANN, H. (1995). Gastrointestinal problems in airline crew members. Z Gastroenterol, 33(9), 513–516.
• ENTWISTLE, J., & WISSINGER, E. (2006). Keeping up appearances: aesthetic labour in the fashion modelling industries of London and New York. The Sociological Review, 54(4), 774–794.
• EOC (2014). Sexual Harassment and Discrimination in Employment – Questionnaire Survey for Flight Attendants. https://www.eoc.org.hk/EOC/Upload/ResearchReport/SHFlightAttendants_e.pdf (accessed 30 March 2023).
• FREDRICKSON, B. L. & ROBERTS, T. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173-206.
• FRONE, M.R. (2003). Work-family balance. In J.C. Quickvel and E. Tetrick (eds), Handbook of Occupational Health Psychology (pp. 143-162). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• FU, Y.K. (2013). The influence of internal marketing by airlines on customer-oriented behavior: a test of the mediating effect of emotional labor. Journal of Air Transport Management, 32(7), 49-57.
• FUJINO, Y., ISO, H., TAMAKOSHI, A., INABA, Y., KOIZUMI, A., & KUBO, T. (2006). A prospective cohort study of shift work and risk of ischemic heart disease in Japanese male workers. American Journal of Epidemiology, 164(2), 128-135.
• GARBARINO, S., DE CARLI, F., NOBILI, L., MASCIALINO, B., SQUARCIA, S., PENCO, M.A., BEELKE, M., & FERRILLO, F. (2002). Sleepiness and Sleep Disorders in Shift Workers: A Study on a Group of Italian Police Officers. Sleep, 25(6), 642–647.
• GIMLIN, D. 2007. What is ‘body work’? a review of the literature. Sociology Compass, 1(1), 353-370.
• GODFREY, K. 2020. Crewed Up. From saving choking passengers to performing CPR – behind the scenes at British Airways cabin crew training. Thesun https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/10712938/british-airways-flight-attendant-training/ (accessed 30 March 2023).
• HOCHSCHILD, A.R. (1983). The managed heart: Commercialization of human feeling. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
• Humanrights (2020). Sexual Harassment. Australian Human Rights Commission. https://humanrights.gov.au/quick-guide/12096 (accessed 30 March 2023).
• Hurriyet (2017). Aldığı eğitim sayesinde uçakta boğulma tehlikesi olan bebeği kurtardı [Thanks to the medical training she received, she saved the baby who was in danger of drowning on the plane]. https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/aldigi-egitim-sayesinde-ucakta-bogulma-tehlikes-40435465 (accessed 30 March 2023)
• ICAO (2014). International Civil Aviation Organization. Cabin Crew Safety Training Manual (Doc 10002). https://store.icao.int/en/cabin-crew-safety-training-manual-doc-10002 (accessed 30 March 2023).
• KAGNICIOGLU, D. (2017). The role of women in working life in Turkey. WIT Transactions on Ecology and The Environment, 226, 349-358.
• KELLIE, D.J.; BLAKE, K.R., & ROBERT, C.B. (2020). Behind the make-up: The effects of cosmetics on women's self-objectification, and their objectification by others, [Project. Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia].
• KRIPPENDORFF, K. (2004). Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• KÜÇÜK, S. (2013). Being a woman in Turkey and in the Middle East. Turkish Policy Quarterly, 11(4), 23-43.
• KWANGWOOK, C., ENNACEUR, A., COLE, C., & SUH, C.K. (2000). Chronic jet lag produces cognitive deficits. The Journal of Neuroscience, 20(6), 1-5.
• LEE, C., AN, M., & NOH, Y. (2015). The effects of emotional display rules on flight attendants’ emotional labor strategy, job burnout and performance. Serv Bus, 9, 409-425.
• LESSOR, R. (1984). Social movements, the occupational arena and changes in career consciousness: the case of women flight attendants. Journal of Occupational Behaviour, 5(1), 37-51.
• LINDGREN, T., & NORBÄCK, D. (2005). Health and perception of cabin air quality among Swedish commercial airline crew. Indoor Air, 15(10), 65-72.
• LOKENAUTH, M.A. (2018). Gender on Air: Being a Female Flight Attendant in Turkey, [Master’s Thesis, Istanbul Sehir University].
• MAHER, C, HADFIELD, M., HUTCHINGS, MAGGIE, & DE EYTO, A. (2018). Ensuring Rigor in Qualitative Data Analysis: A Design Research Approach to Coding Combining NVivo With Traditional Material Methods. The International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17(1).
• MALHOTRA, N.K. (2006). Questionnaire Design and Scale Development. In R. Grover and M. Vriens (eds.), The Handbook of Marketing Research: Uses, Misuses, and Future Advances. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• MARTIN, R.C. ARJOMAND, S.A., HERMANSEN, M., TAYOB, A., DAVIS, R., & VOLL, J.O. (2003). Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World. New York: Macmillan Reference USA.
• McNEELY, E., GALE, S., TAGER, I., KINCL, L., COULL, B., & HECKER, S. (2014). The self-reported health of U.S flight attendants compared to the general population. Environmental Health, 13(13).
• MCNEELY, E., MORDUKHOVICH, I., TIDEMAN, S., GALE, S., & COULL, B. (2018). Estimating the health consequences of flight attendant work: comparing flight attendant health to the general population in a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 18, 346.
• MILEVA, V.R., JONES, A.L., RUSSELL, R., & LITTLE, A.C. (2016). Sex Differences in the Perceived Dominance and Prestige of Women With and Without Cosmetics. Perception, 45(10), 1166–1183.
• MIZRAHI, R. (2004). hostility to the presence of women: why women undermine each other in the workplace and the consequences for title VII. The Yale Law Journal, 113(7), 1579–1621.
• MOOSA, R. (2017). Exploring work life balance amongst female flight attendants at selected airlines in the Western Cape, [Master’s Thesis. University of the Western Cape].
• MUMTAZ, S.H. (2017). Analysis of Mental Health Issues and its Implications on Cabin Crew at Emirates Airlines [Master’s Thesis, Middle Tennessee State University].
• NASIR, J.J. (2009). The Status of Women Under Islamic Law and Modern Islamic Legislation (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Brill.
• NBC News (2019). Virgin Atlantic says female flight attendants can drop make-up, choose pants over skirts. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/virgin-atlantic-says-female-flight-attendants-can-drop-makeup-choose-n980481 (accessed 30 March 2023).
• NG, S.I., SAMBASIVAN, M., & ZUBAIDAH, S. (2011). Antecedents and outcomes of flight attendants’ job satisfaction. Journal of Air Transport Management, 17(5), 309-313.
• NICKSON, D.P. WARHURST, C., WITZ, A., & CULLEN, A.M. (2001). The Importance of Being Aesthetic: Work, Employment and Service Organisation. In A. Sturdy, I. Grugulis & H. Willmott (eds.), Customer Service: Empowerment and Entrapment (pp. 170-190). Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
• NOON, M., BLYTON, P. (2002). The Realities of Work. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
• NOOR, N., REHMAN, S., AHMED, Y., SARMAD, M., & MEHMOOD, R. (2023). Discriminatory practices and poor job performance: A study of person-related hostility among nursing staff. Heliyon, 9(3).
• PATI, A.K., CHANDRAWANSHI, A., & REINBERG, A. (2001). Shift work: Consequences and management. Current Science, 81(1), 32-52.
• PILCHER, K.E. (2007). A gendered ‘managed heart’? An exploration of the gendering of emotional labour, aesthetic labour, and body work in service sector employment. Reinvention: a Journal of Undergraduate Research, Launch Issue, 1-13.
• POTTER, J. (2004). Discourse analysis as a way of analysing naturally occurring talk. In D. Silverman, (ed.), Qualitative Analysis: Issues of theory and method (pp. 200-221). London: Sage Publications.
• PUGH, S.D. (2001). Service with a smile: emotional contagion in the service encounter. Acad Manag J, 44(5), 1018–1027.
• PUKKALA, E., HELMINEN, M., HALDORSEN, T., HAMMAR, N., KOJO, K., LINNERSJÖ, A., RAFNSSON, V., TULINIUS, H., TVETEN, U., & AUVINEN, A. (2012). Cancer incidence among Nordic airline cabin crew. International Journal of Cancer, 131(12), 2886–2897.
• REN, X. (2017). Exploiting women’s aesthetic labour to fly high in the Chinese airline Industry. Gender in Management, 32(6), 386-403.
• SANGSTER, J., & SMITH, J. (2016). Beards and Bloomers: Flight Attendants, Grievances and Embodied Labour in the Canadian Airline Industry, 1960s-1980s. Gender, Work & Organization, 23(2), 183-199.
• SCHAUB, K., BERG, K., WINTER, G., ELLEGAST, R., GLITSCH, U., OTTERSBACH, H.J., JAGER, M., & FRANZ, G. (2007). Muscular capabilities and workload of flight attendants for pushing and pulling trolleys aboard aircraft. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 37(11-12), 883–892.
• SCHNEIDER, K. (2010). Raunchy ads 'put flight attendants at risk'. News.com.au. https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/raunchy-ads-put-flight-attendants-at-risk/news-story/4e58b7b1251c14adb0a21ce4d778f6bd (accessed 30 March 2023).
• SHALLA, V. (2004). Time warped: The flexibilization and maximization of flight attendant working time. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 41(3), 345-368.
• SHILLING, C. (1993). The Body and Social Theory. London: Sage Publications.
• SPARKS, H. (2020). More companies are adopting paid menstrual leave policies. NY Post. https://nypost.com/2020/08/12/more-companies-are-adopting-paid-menstrual-leave-policies (accessed 30 March 2023).
• SPIESS, L., & WARING, P. (2005). Aesthetic labour, cost minimisation and the labour process in the Asia Pacific airline industry. Employee Relations, 27(2), 193-207.
• SVEINSDOTTIR, H., GUNNARSDOTTIR, H.K., & FRIDRIKSDOTTIR, H. (2007). Self-assessed occupational health and working environment of female nurses, cabin crew and teachers. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 21(2), 262-273.
• SZYMANSKI, D.M., MOFFITT, L.B., & CARR, E.R. (2011). Sexual objectification of women: advances to theory and research. The Counseling Psychologist, 39(1), 6–38.
• TOPHAM, G. (2019). Virgin Atlantic drops mandatory make-up for female cabin crew. TheGuardian. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/04/virgin-atlantic-drops-mandatory-makeup-for-female-cabin-crew (accessed 30 March 2023).
• TSAUR, S.H., & TANG, W.H. (2013). The burden of esthetic labor on front-line employees in hospitality industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 35, 19-27.
• TWU (2019). Cabincrewtoo. https://www.twu.com.au/aviation/cabincrewtoo (accessed 30 March 2023).
• TYLER, M. & HANCOCK, P. (2001). Flight attendants and the management of gendered ‘organizational bodies’. In K. Backett-Milburn & L. McKie (Eds.), Constructing gendered bodies (pp. 25-38), Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
• VOYDANOFF, P. (2005). Work demands and work-to-family and family-to-work conflict: Direct and indirect relationships. Journal of Family Issues, 26(6), 707-726.
• WARHURST, C., & NICKSON, D. (2007). Employee experience of aesthetic labour in retail and hospitality. Work, Employment & Society, 21(1), 103-120.
• WARHURST, C., & NICKSON, D. (2009). ‘Who’s Got the Look?’ Emotional, Aesthetic and Sexualized Labour in Interactive Services. Gender, Work and Organization, 16(3), 385-404.
• WARHURST, C., NICOSON, D., WITZ, A., & CULLEN, A.M. (2000). Aesthetic labour in interactive service work: some case study evidence from the ‘New’ Glasgow. The Service Industries Journal, 20(3), 1–18.
• WHITELEGG, D. (2007). Working the Skies: The fast-paced, disorienting world of the flight attendant. New York: New York University Press.
• WILK, S.L., & MOYNIHAN, L.M. (2005). Display rule “regulators”: the relationship between supervisors and worker emotional exhaustion. J Appl Psychol, 90(5), 918-927.
• WOLKOWITZ, C. (2006). Bodies at Work. London: Sage Publications.
• YANIKOĞLU, Ö., KILIÇ, S., & KÜÇÜKÖNAL, H. (2020). Gender in the cockpit: Challenges faced by female airline pilots. Journal of Air Transport Management, 86, 1-8.
• YUSUF, A.Q. (1997). The Status of Women in Islam. Cairo: Islamic Home Publishing and Distribution.