World’s Largest Airline Pilots’ Union Urges Members to Use More Inclusive Language: Replace ‘Cockpit,’ ‘Manpower
In 2021, the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), the world’s largest airline pilot union, released a diversity, equity, and inclusion language guide for its members. This guide advised members to avoid using terms like “cockpit,” ”airmen,” and “manpower” to foster a more inclusive workplace environment that reflects the union’s diversity. The term “cockpit” is highlighted for its potential derogatory use and historical connotations suggesting women do not belong in the piloting profession. The guide emphasizes the importance of intent behind word use while addressing the need for more inclusive language in aviation.
The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), the largest airline pilot’s union in the world, published a diversity, equity and inclusion language guide to its members in 2021 instructing them to refrain from using words such as “cockpit,” “airmen,” and “manpower” in order to “reflect the diversity we have at ALPA” and to “create a more inclusive workplace.”
“While the word ‘cockpit’ dates back to the 1900s, it has been and may be used in a derogatory way to exclude women in the piloting profession,” the guide explained, according to Breitbart. “Many women have heard a variation of ‘It is called a cockpit for a reason’ by a male pilot, suggesting that women do not belong in the piloting profession. The intent behind the use of the word is important. … While the word ‘cockpit’ dates back to the 1900s, it has been and may be used in a derogatory way to exclude women in the piloting profession. … Many women have heard a variation of ‘It is called a cockpit for a reason’ by a male pilot, suggesting that women do not belong in the piloting profession. The intent behind the use of the word is important.”
The APLA also dislikes using the terms “mother” and “father” because those “may inadvertently ignore different family structures,” such as “caregivers, same-sex parents, stepparents, families with adopted members, and more,” Breitbart noted.
The ALPA released a statement to Fox News, saying:
Flying is the safest mode of transportation in the world thanks in large part to airline pilots, professionals that are all held to the highest training and qualification standards. There are real threats to aviation safety like efforts to replace pilots with automation or lower training and experience standards, but opening the doors of opportunity to ensure we have a robust supply of qualified aviators isn’t one of them.
In 2021, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby was slammed after saying of the company’s graduating pilot classes, “We have committed that 50% of the classes will be women or people of color.”
This is insane.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby proudly states they’re using DEI based racial and gender quotas to reduce the amount of white people in the air travel industry.pic.twitter.com/HsyT2Bwut9
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) January 15, 2024
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