A FAA committee published a report that recommended airlines adopt gender neutral language.To promote inclusion, the group suggested that airlines replace "Airman" and "Aviator" words.The industry is dominated by men. 94% of flight engineers and pilots are white men.Subscribe to the 10 Things In Tech newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest tech trends and developments. Loading something is currently loading. Click Sign up to receive marketing emails and other offers from Insider.In an effort to increase diversity, the airline industry could soon promote inclusive language.A Federal Aviation Administration advisory panel released Wednesday a report that recommended that airlines adopt a more gender-neutral language and remove words like "Airman", "Cockpit" and other similar terms from their lexicon.According to the FAA, airlines should replace "airman" by "aviator" or "cockpit" with a "flight deck." The FAA group also recommended that "unmanned aerial systems" be replaced with "unscrewed air system" or "drone-system", to name just a few.The committee stated in its report that "Research has shown that general-neutral language can help create an inclusive environment that attracts more people to the sector and helps them stay there",This move mirrors other organizations' efforts to be more inclusive towards women. NASA made it clear that the terminology used in its space program would not be gender-specific in 2006.The FAA's drone advisory panel has made the recommendation as a result a push by the Biden administration to increase equity in aviation, an industry that has historically been dominated by white men. Although many women are flight attendants, very few female pilots or flight engineers are minority- or gender-specific. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 94% of all airline pilots and engineers are white men.Airlines could bring more women into the industry to combat the shortage of pilots that could threaten to stop a post-pandemic boom in travel. However, the use of gender neutral terminology won't address the issue of the insufficient representation of minorities within the industry.This new terminology is one step towards addressing decades of sexism within the aviation industry.The sexualization of women has been a benefit to the industry in the past. Axios reports that in the 1950s and 1960s, flight attendants (also called stewardesses) were chosen based on their looks. They were also required to not be married. According to the Association of Flight Attendants - CWA, most flight attendants were forced to retire at 35.Some airlines were famous for their stewardesses, and used them to advertise in 1960s. Braniff International Airways' slogan was, "Does your wife know that you fly with us?" Pan Am asked, "How do your stewardesses like you?"Pan American (Pan Am), Pan American Airways (Pan Am) hostess served champagne in the first cabin of a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet. Tim Graham/Getty ImagesMany airlines were using hot pants and go-go boots as flight attendants in the 1970s. National Airlines spent $9.5million on a 1971 campaign that featured the slogan "I'm Cheryl." Fly Me Fly Me" was later added to the ad.The industry started to relax its requirements for flight attendants in the 1980s. The Association of Flight Attendants points out that women in the industry continue to struggle to be represented. Federal data also shows that the median annual wage of pilots is almost twice the salary of flight attendants.Flight attendants have had to deal with another set of problems in the last year. A Southwest Airlines flight attendant lost two teeth in May after an assault by a passenger.The FAA stated that it had seen an increase in aggressive and unruly behavior on airlines over the past month. They cited instances when passengers hit, shoved and yelled at flight attendants. Several flight attendants spoke out last week to Allana Akhtar of Insider that they had been subjected to "unprecedented" acts of violence and aggression in the air.
