The flight attendant industry has been accused of sexism for decades. While the industry has made considerable reforms, some Chinese companies have lagged slightly -- er, decades -- behind.
In Qingdao, Northeast China, modeling agency Oriental Beauty hosted a slightly unusual competition over the weekend. Recruiters from both the aviation industry and fashion industry watched from the audience as over 1000 female recent high school graduates paraded around in conservative uniforms and bikinis, hoping to land job contracts.
More than 1,000 graduates, from Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi and other nearby provinces, competed for a chance at these often lucrative contracts. Candidates were required to be 5'6" tall, unless they were exceptionally beautiful, in which case, the requirement could be dropped to 5'5". Seems fair.
Women were further encouraged to be "elegant, slim, have sweet voice and have no scars in the exposed part of their skin," The Daily Mail reports.
The Chinese aviation industry is a huge employer of women. In 2013, nearly 41% of Air China's employees were women, even though just 1.1% of all Chinese pilots were female. The industry has long been accused of institutional sexism. A report recently published in The Conversation found that newspaper advertisements routinely advertised for women "to be aged 18-25, slim, attractive, have good skin...[and a] pleasant personality."
