prevent individuals with different gender identities from choosing
uniforms that align with their gender identities.
b) Regarding footwear allowances, the original self-purchase rule of
one airline company was two pairs of dress shoes per year, with
male cabin crew receiving NT$2,500 per pair of shoes and their
female counterparts receiving NT$1,650 per pair of shoes. The
airline’s reasoning was that men’s shoes are generally more
expensive, hence the larger allowance. After union complaints, an
equal allowance was granted to employees of both genders:
NT$2,500 for one pair and NT$3,300 for two pairs of shoes (an
average of NT$1,650 TWD per pair). However, this meant that
male cabin crew could choose to buy only one pair (and receive a
subsidy of NT$2,500), whereas female cabin crew, who had to wear
high heels when working outside the cabin and who preferred to
wear flats when working inside the cabin, had to buy two pairs (and
receive a subsidy of NT$3,300).
d. Domestic and International Cases
As previously mentioned, the data compiled by the Civil Aviation
Administration reveals that approximately 40% of airlines in the Asian
region and nearly 100% of airlines in the European, American, New
Zealand, and Australian regions offer both skirt and trouser uniforms.
Nonetheless, there remain numerous dress code-related complaints and
investigations worldwide, including the aforementioned NHRCK’s female
cabin crew uniform complaint case as well as the following cases:
a) Alaska Airlines Investigation, Washington State Human Rights
Commission (WSHRC)
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Washington State
ACLU assisted non-binary gender-identifying cabin crew in filing a
complaint with the WSHRC against Alaska Airlines for its strict binary
gender dress code, which violated state laws.
In 2022, WSHRC’s investigation revealed that Alaska Airlines’ dress
code policy, which required an employee to wear a uniform that did not
match their gender expression or identity, was in violation of the state’s
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