Award Date

1-1-1995

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Number of Pages

90

Abstract

The flight attendant occupation in the United States, developed in the 1930s, created new opportunities for women workers, but defined flight attendants as docile, temporary, and easily exploitable workers. Airlines soon discovered that flight attendants provided a marketable image, based on physical appearance. This thesis traces the development of policies, such as marriage bans, age ceilings, weight regulations, and prohibitions against pregnancy, designed to create and maintain this image. In the 1960s and 1970s, flight attendants challenged the legitimacy of these policies using the sex provision of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Gaining support from their unions, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and eventually the legal system, flight attendants successfully eliminated all of these policies, with the exception of weight regulations. The battle waged by the flight attendants reveals the prevalence of sex discrimination in the market place and the process of challenging it.

Keywords

Airlines; Battle; Discrimination; Industry; Sex; Skies; United States

Controlled Subject

Industrial relations; Transportation; Women's studies

File Format

pdf

File Size

2129.92 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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Rights

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