WOMEN’S RIGHTS:
China Airlines, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan have offered female flight attendants the option to wear trousers to address gender equality concerns
More Taiwanese airlines have pledged to relax uniform requirements for female flight attendants, allowing options such as trousers, following a government watchdog report saying that previous policies constituted gender discrimination.
China Airlines, for instance, introduced an alternative trousers-based uniform option on Saturday for female cabin crew, featuring a patchwork design in its signature colors — blue, red and black.
In a statement, the carrier emphasized its commitment to gender equality, saying that female flight attendants in the future would be able to choose between trousers and skirts to better accommodate their individual preferences.
Photo: CNA
Similarly, Starlux Airlines announced that it adjusted its cabin crew dress code on Sept. 24, allowing female employees to select either skirts or trousers when renewing their uniforms.
The airlines’ decision came after a report from the Control Yuan’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in July, which found that the dress codes of Taiwanese airlines violated the gender discrimination provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The report, conducted in response to a complaint filed by the Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union last year, found that most Taiwanese airlines have different dress codes for male and female cabin crew.
In particular, female cabin crew are subject to highly specific requirements regarding hair and makeup, according to the report.
As a result, the NHRC urged the airlines to take a proactive stance in complying with CEDAW principles and introduce a trousers-based alternative uniform for female cabin crew.
Budget airline Tigerair Taiwan, China Airlines and Starlux are the only Taiwan-based airlines to offer a trousers-based uniform option for female cabin crew.