Airline companies’ appearance requirements obliging female flight attendants to wear pencil skirts and high heels are discriminatory, and they should be able to have the option to wear pants, the National Human Rights Commission said in a report yesterday.
Completing a year-long probe, commission members said the uniform requirements of Taiwan’s air carriers contravened the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
To fight gender-based discrimination, government agencies should issue guidelines and require airlines to make changes so that female flight attendants have the option to wear pants, the report said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union in August last year filed a complaint with the commission about the issue.
“Airline companies’ uniform requirements are discriminatory and they also negatively affect flight attendants’ ability to handle emergency situations, putting them in danger and at risk of exposing parts of their bodies,” the union said.
The commission said that its probe found that airline companies have differences in their uniform requirements for male and female attendants, with the female dress code being more demanding.
“Requirements for female attendants are disadvantageous to them at work and discriminatory, contravening provisions under CEDAW,” it said.
During their training, flight attendants wear pants, so they have no experience of handling emergency situations while in a skirt, it added.
Requiring female flight attendants to wear pencil skirts and high heels increases the risk of their objectification and being sexually harassed, it said, adding that such uniforms make them more prone to fall and are more susceptible to catching fire,
Commission members also suggested that the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別平等工作法) be amended.
Meanwhile, some major local airlines, including EVA Air, China Airlines and Starlux Airlines, released press statements saying that they would consult with flight attendants to find out their needs regarding the dress code and work conditions, and evaluate necessary changes.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
RSS