‘The way they were handed out makes it complicated’.
An airline is facing criticism after they gave out stickers to young passengers that many are calling “sexist” for “encouraging gender stereotypes”.
TUI Airways were seen giving out two different types of stickers to the children on-board a flight from Cyprus to Bristol by Dame Gillian Morgan.
However, when she was passing through passport control, she noticed that all the little boys had received one sticker and all the little girls received another.
Dame Morgan says that little boys were given ‘Future Captain’ stickers while the girls were given ‘Future Cabin Crew’ stickers and called it “deeply sexist”.
“The stickers were gender neutral but it’s the way that they were handed out that makes it complicated,” Dame Morgan told Metro.
“It happens implicitly all the time. The boys can have the Lego, the space rocket going to the moon, and the girls can have a little pony.
“We desperately need more women to do science, maths and engineering but little things like this take us backwards by providing restricting roles.
“In 30 years’ time it might be likely that the majority of pilots will still be men but we should not be turning off the girls who are going to be the ones to walk on Mars.”
The stickers have been picked up on before by multiple passengers who shared their disappointment in the airline online.
In response to the criticism, TUI say that it was not their intention for the stickers to be given out based on gender.
“We’re sorry to hear a small number of customers have been upset by this,” a spokesperson said.
“We think it has just been a simple mix-up since our future pilot and cabin crew stickers are designed for use for any child regardless of gender.”
