Here is a question that has probably never crossed your mind: how woke is aviation? Never, that is, until now. A “political-correctness row” has reportedly errupted at the Australian airline Qantas, whose staff have been advised of language that is more respectful of the LGBTI community and others, as part of a “Spirit of Inclusion” month.
According to reports, an “information booklet” instructed male employees to avoid “manterrupting” – cutting off female colleagues – and told all staff to say “partner” rather than husband or wife, because “language can make groups of people invisible. For example, the use of the term chairman can reinforce the idea that leaders are always men.” The “booklet” also warned against unconscious colonialist bias when discussing Australian history.
The former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott weighed in to the row, calling Qantas the “corporate thought police”. But, says Qantas spokesman Andrew McGinnes, there was no such booklet: “We shared some language suggestions developed by the Diversity Council of Australia on our corporate intranet to help start a conversation about the impact language can have on an inclusive workplace.” But why is this even on Qantas’s radar? Why has an airline started talking like an ultra-hip post-colonial gender studies graduate?
Source :- theguardian
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