Britain’s Virgin Atlantic has dropped a requirement that female flight attendants wear makeup, joining other major carriers that have eased their dress and grooming requirements after complaints about turning female employees into sex objects.
Virgin Atlantic this week announced that female cabin crew members can skip the makeup. If they want to keep using lipstick and foundation, they must stick to an approved palette of shades.
The changes — which also include making it easier for women to pick pants over red skirts — came after listening to employees, Virgin Atlantic executive vice president Mark Anderson said in a statement.
“Not only do the new guidelines offer an increased level of comfort, they also provide our team with more choice on how they want to express themselves at work,” Anderson said.
Uniforms are standard for cabin crew on most airlines, but US carriers have come a long way since Southwest famously dressed its flight attendants in hot pants in the 1970s.
Southwest’s policy is typical: Long pants are a uniform option, and makeup is not required.
If crew members wear makeup on the job, it “should be professional, conservative, and complement the uniform and the employee’s complexion,” according to guidelines for flight attendants.
American Airlines tells its flight attendants that if they wear makeup, “it should be tasteful and complimentary to your professional image.”
United Airlines, JetBlue and Delta Air Lines also said they do not require makeup.
There have been employee complaints against US carriers over hairstyles, with some employees believing they were victims of racial discrimination, but makeup ceased being a major concern years ago.
“When I started, we had to go to makeup class — and men got the day off,” said Sara Nelson, a flight attendant since the mid-1990s and now president of the Association of Flight Attendants.
Appearance standards at most US carriers now treat men and women more equally, she said.
Objectification of women is still an issue at US carriers. Last year, Nelson’s union said its survey indicated that nearly two-thirds of US flight attendants suffered harassment, ranging from suggestive comments to groping.
Last month, a separate union that represents American Airlines cabin crews objected to a video showing people dressed as flight attendants performing a musical number that suggested American uses sex appeal to attract high-paying passengers.
The airline said it had no involvement in the skit.
Appearance standards are stricter for foreign carriers, particularly in the Middle East and Asia.
Some carriers, including Malaysia’s AirAsia and Vietnam’s VietJet Air, have been criticized for putting young female flight attendants in tight-fitting clothes or revealing outfits either on the job or in promotional videos.
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