Chinese airline slammed for hiring married women and mothers as 'air aunties'

A Chinese airline's job posting for married women and mothers to become crew members is facing backlash for calling them “air aunties”. Controversy erupted when Shanghai-based Spring Airlines released job postings for "air aunties" on October 22. The job call says the airline is "seeking women aged between 25 and 40, preferably those who are married or with children." Those interested in becoming flight attendants with the airline must hold a bachelor’s degree, be between 162 and 174cm tall and preferably have experience in customer service. The preferred age for flight attendants who wish to work with any Chinese airline is 18-25. The desire to hire women above this age group stems from the idea that older women have "valuable life experience and empathy" and can help care for children and elderly passengers better, a recruitment manager told China News Service.

Also Read: Qatar Airways ‘eat around the meat’ case may set precedent for aviation negligence claims

While Spring Airlines says it is trying to offer more diverse job opportunities for women and grow its workforce by calling on women of this age group to join them as flight attendants, the term "air aunties" quickly invited criticism. In China, the legal retirement age for women is usually 50. A person wrote, "This title is so disrespectful to women. It highlights that they are older and married." The use of the word "aunty" was also seen as a cliche to refer to women as "traditional housewives taking care of husbands and kids."

Chinese airline says “air aunties” has been in use since 1990s

Spring Airlines defended the use of the word "aunty", saying it only wanted to "distinguish them from unmarried applicants." A spokesperson for the airline said, "Their duties, pay and career paths are the same as any other flight attendant." The airline added that it was not the first to use the word "air auntie" as it can be traced back to the 1990s. Female textile workers who were laid off were hired as flight attendants by China's civil aviation industry, and were referred to as "air aunties." Notably, the airline already has 88 “air aunties”, and has promoted 74 per cent of them to management roles. Despite the defence, people are calling on the airline to use a common word to refer to all its flight attendants, irrespective of their age and gender.