Reshaping gender in airline employment

Smith, W. E., Cohen, S., Kimbu, A. N. and de Jong, A. (2021) Reshaping gender in airline employment. Annals of Tourism Research, 89, 103221. (doi: 10.1016/j.annals.2021.103221)

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.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: de Jong, Dr Anna
• Authors: Smith, W. E., Cohen, S., Kimbu, A. N., and de Jong, A.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social & Environmental Sustainability
• Journal Name: Annals of Tourism Research
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0160-7383
• ISSN (Online): 1873-7722
• Published Online: 06 May 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd.
• First Published: First published in Annals of Tourism Research 89:103221
• Publisher Policy: Reproduce in accordance with the publisher copyright policy