company rules generally refers specifically to female cabin crew, whereas the term “male crew member” is used when a rule applies to men. During appearance and makeup checks by the purser, female cabin crew are reminded to refresh their makeup (lipstick/eye shadow/eyebrow pencil), are criticized for having a dull complexion, and are told how to style their hair. Men are subject to beard checks only but are not required to wear makeup. Compared with men, women crew members have to spend at least an hour—30 to 40 minutes longer than men—on hair and makeup. Throughout cabin service, the purser occasionally reminds female cabin crew to maintain a neat and tidy appearance. d) The effect of grooming checks on performance evaluations The purser performs pre-flight grooming checks and requires immediate correction of non-conformances or takes note of nonconformances and schedules re-inspection for later. A cabin crew was informed that disciplinary action may be taken against those who continuously fail to comply, but states that this is unheard of as yet because everyone usually complies to pass re-inspection. Another cabin crew described a similar procedure in that failure to comply with grooming standards would lead to disciplinary action according to company rules. Two other crew members explained that any documented non-conformity, even if they pass reinspection, influences a cabin supervisor’s evaluation of their performance. “If [a cabin crew] gets written-up, the management department keeps a record of it, which may be taken into consideration in performance reviews. [My] supervisor said they use these records as a basis for evaluation [because] there are too many people to evaluate.” “Write-ups or improvement requests are usually directed at female cabin crew. [I] have never heard of men getting written up. [This is] because women are being nitpicked on a greater number of 23