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.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS