Canada: The flight attendants who fought sexism in the skies — and won
Even before her job offer was finalized in 1973, Senka Dukovich realized her career as a flight attendant had an expiry date. “I had to sign a contract as a new hire that I would quit after 10 years, or that I would quit at 32 years old, whichever came first. Can you believe that?” the Toronto resident recalled. Her initial interview with Air Canada contained another demeaning surprise. “I was told to wear a skirt and I was told to turn around. That was my first experience with what you might call sexism.” Before the 1970s, female cabin crew, then known as stewardesses, faced discriminatory hiring and work policies marked by strict weight limits, age ceilings, appearance guidelines and marriage bans. But, amid a swelling tide of second-wave feminism — from Chatelaine to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women — a new generation of flight attendants fought to overturn sexist expectations and bring fair labour standards to the skies. Susan Barnes was in her early 20s when she signed on with Canadian Pacific Air Lines in 1968. Mandatory retirement was at age 30. Marriage was a fireable offence. Regular weigh-ins — when cabin crew stepped on a scale before departure — were also required. “I had a weight restriction of 112 to 116 pounds. So if I weighed less than that or more than that, I got taken off the line with no pay,” Barnes recalled. “I never saw the boys step on the scale.” Management regulated appearance down to the last eyelash. Each worker was told during a two-month training program which mascara and eyeliner to wear, available only from the company store. In 1970, Canadian Pacific conceded to end the marriage ban following demands from a small group of flight attendants, including Barnes. A wave of “new” nuptials followed immediately. Story has more. At the time, pregnancy was also a no-no, until Barnes’s committee demanded accommodation, she said. After the change, stewardesses still went unpaid until they returned from leave.<br/>
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Canada: The flight attendants who fought sexism in the skies — and won
Even before her job offer was finalized in 1973, Senka Dukovich realized her career as a flight attendant had an expiry date. “I had to sign a contract as a new hire that I would quit after 10 years, or that I would quit at 32 years old, whichever came first. Can you believe that?” the Toronto resident recalled. Her initial interview with Air Canada contained another demeaning surprise. “I was told to wear a skirt and I was told to turn around. That was my first experience with what you might call sexism.” Before the 1970s, female cabin crew, then known as stewardesses, faced discriminatory hiring and work policies marked by strict weight limits, age ceilings, appearance guidelines and marriage bans. But, amid a swelling tide of second-wave feminism — from Chatelaine to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women — a new generation of flight attendants fought to overturn sexist expectations and bring fair labour standards to the skies. Susan Barnes was in her early 20s when she signed on with Canadian Pacific Air Lines in 1968. Mandatory retirement was at age 30. Marriage was a fireable offence. Regular weigh-ins — when cabin crew stepped on a scale before departure — were also required. “I had a weight restriction of 112 to 116 pounds. So if I weighed less than that or more than that, I got taken off the line with no pay,” Barnes recalled. “I never saw the boys step on the scale.” Management regulated appearance down to the last eyelash. Each worker was told during a two-month training program which mascara and eyeliner to wear, available only from the company store. In 1970, Canadian Pacific conceded to end the marriage ban following demands from a small group of flight attendants, including Barnes. A wave of “new” nuptials followed immediately. Story has more. At the time, pregnancy was also a no-no, until Barnes’s committee demanded accommodation, she said. After the change, stewardesses still went unpaid until they returned from leave.<br/>
