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FAA committee released a report recommending airlines shift to gender neutral language. - The group recommended airlines replace words like “Airman” with “Aviator” to promote inclusivity.
- Women have little representation in the industry. 94% of pilots and flight engineers are white men.
The airline industry may soon move toward promoting more inclusive language in an effort to increase diversity.
On Wednesday, a Federal Aviation Administration advisory committee released a report recommending that airlines shift toward more gender neutral language by removing words like “Airman” and “Cockpit” from their lexicon.
The FAA group recommended airlines replace “airman” with “aviator” and “cockpit” with “flight deck.” It also said “unmanned aerial system” should become “unscrewed aerial system” or “drone system,” to name a few recommendations.
“Research shows that the utilization of general-neutral language can lead to a more inclusive environment that draws more people to the industry and helps keep them there,” the committee said in its report.
The move would mirror changes that other organizations have made to be more inclusive toward women. In 2006, NASA decided that all terminology used in the space program would be gender neutral.
The recommendation from the FAA’s drone advisory committee comes as a result of a push from the Biden administration for more equity in aviation – an industry that has been primarily dominated by white men. While many women serve as flight attendants, there are very few female or minority pilots and flight engineers. To date, about 94% of airline pilots and flight engineers are white men, according to data from US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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By bringing more female representation into the industry, airlines could help combat a shortage of pilots that threatens to halt a post pandemic boom in travel. Though, gender neutral terminology will not target the lack of minority representation in the industry.