Airline removes mandatory wearing of heels and makeup for female flight attendants

Female Qantas employees will no longer need to wear makeup, while it will become an option for their male colleagues

Imogen Sturney , an affiliate of the Australian Employees' Union (ASU) Secretary who reportedly lobbied Qantas to update its rules, told the BBC: «Some of the dress code requirements bordered on the ridiculous, such as makeup style guides and the requirement that women wear smaller watches than men.

However, while employees of either gender are free to dress and apply makeup as they see fit, there will still be some restrictions. Regardless of gender, if the hair is long, it will have to be tied up.

Meanwhile, those with tattoos will still have to cover them up, and the airline will also require that certain items of clothing, such as tights or stockings with skirts, worn together.

The spokesman added: “Our unified standards have always been a reflection of the times. In the 80s, sideburns had to end up to the middle of the ear, «gel spikes» were eliminated, and we recommended navy blue as the best eyeliner color. In the 70s, women had to wear skirts above the knee.»

Despite the relaxation of the rules, the spokesman stressed that the airline will maintain «the same high standards of care and attention to detail.»

img src=»/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/dd440fc53bcabae2447eaaba2ee775ba.jpg» />Qantas' the policy change came after stricter rules caused frustration among employees.

This is the first major change to Qantas's uniform policy since the introduction of its current uniforms in 2013.

In September 2022, Virgin Atlantic announced that it would no longer require its employees to wear uniforms with gender.

Virgin Atlantic has already taken a noticeably softer stance on tattoos, having previously allowed crew members to have visible tattoos.

In 2019, Air New Zealand said that employees would be allowed to keep traditional Maori and other «non-offensive» tattoos. tattoos are visible.

At the time, the airline said: “Enabling our employees to express their individuality and cultural heritage through tattoos is the latest step in our journey to truly embrace diversity and create a workplace where Air New Zealanders can be themselves and thrive.”

«We ask employees to treat tattoos the same way they treat speech: you can't swear, insult or joke in the workplace, just like your tattoos.»

Despite the fact that Virgin Atlantic has relaxed its rules. regarding gender uniforms, it suspended the rule for personnel aboard the flight that took the England football team to Qatar for the FIFA World Cup last year.

At the time, the airline said it was the result of a «risk assessment” taking into account Qatari laws and attitudes towards LGBT people+ People. The airline said it would initially roll out the policy to countries such as the UK, US and Israel, which it says are «more accepting of non-binary identities.»

However, at the time, the airline said it was still will send the team to Qatar with a rainbow flag logo that symbolizes LGBTQ pride.

FIFA has come under fire for its decision to allow the tournament to be held in the Gulf state, where homosexuality is illegal under Sharia law.