Now EasyJet introduces gender pronoun name badges for its plane crew… with more than 25 options available – as critics brand the scheme ‘pointless posturing’
- Cabin crew will choose from English pronouns and those from other languages
EasyJet has become the latest employer to introduce gender pronoun name badges for its staff – with more than 25 options available.
The plane crew can choose from both English options as well as pronouns used in other languages such as ze/zir/zirs, xe/xem/xyrs and xier/xies/dier.
The airline company said name badges will be amended for staff who request it, adding: ‘We want to ensure we provide an inclusive environment for everyone,’ according to The Sun.
Critics however, including Sir John Hayes, chair of the Tories’ Common Sense Group, have branded the idea ‘pointless posturing’.
Back in 2019, it also advised cabin crew to avoid using the collective greeting ‘ladies and gentlemen’ after a single Twitter user complained.
Staff are now urged to say ‘welcome everyone’ in order to involve all passengers.
EasyJet plane crew will now have their gender pronouns on their name badges – with 25 options to choose from
Last year Virgin Atlantic announced that staff would be able to choose whether to wear the red or burgundy uniform, with trousers also available for the red option
It comes as last year international airline Virgin Atlantic updated its uniform policy to remove gendered clothing requirements in a move which saw passengers criticise the airline for not focusing on passenger prices and experience instead.
Staff including plane crew and pilots can now choose which uniform they wear: the company’s ‘red’ option, previously most commonly worn by female flight attendants, or the ‘burgundy’ option, previously worn by male flight attendants.
This includes allowing men to wear skirts and women to wear trousers, as well as increasing the uniform options available to non-binary staff members.
Also last year British Airways introduced the option for male staff to wear make-up and carry handbags in an overhaul of the airliner’s strict uniform rules.
Airline bosses reportedly told staff in November: ‘be bold, be proud, be yourself’ and said they hoped the refreshed guidance would be ’embraced by everyone regardless of gender, gender identity, ethnicity, background, culture, sexual identity, or otherwise’.
