A union representing more than 70,000 commercial pilots has suggested changing words like “cockpit” to “flight deck” to be more sensitive to women and LGBTQ+ employees.
The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), the world’s largest airline pilot union, has taken a stab at making gendered language more inclusive to its diverse members in an Inclusive Language Reference Guide.
The controversial guide, published in 2021, directs pilots to refrain from using masculine words, such as “guys,” “airmen,” “manpower,” and “cockpit,” to “reflect the diversity we have at ALPA” and to “create a more inclusive workplace.”
“While the word ‘cockpit’ dates back to the 1900s, it has been and may be used in a derogatory way to exclude women in the piloting profession,” the ALPA stated. “Many women have heard a variation of ‘It is called a cockpit for a reason’ by a male pilot, suggesting that women do not belong in the piloting profession. The intent behind the use of the word is important.”
Instead, the union directs pilots to refer to the front cabin of the plane as a “flight deck.”
In reality, the word “cockpit” is not derived from anything offensive or related to male anatomy — it actually first appeared in print in the 1580s to describe an arena used for cock fights, according to General Aviation News.
As centuries passed, the term evolved to become a synonym for “control center,” which was later applied to planes. In the early 1900s, the word “cockpit” was adopted by World War I pilots.
Other words the APLA considers non-inclusive are “mother” and “father” because those “may inadvertently ignore different family structures,” such as “caregivers, same-sex parents, stepparents, families with adopted members, and more.”
Referring to people’s wives, husbands, girlfriends, or boyfriends is also being discouraged because “these terms may leave out individuals who are unmarried or have a long-term or same-sex partner.”
The APLA has also deemed any words with “men” or “man” as a suffix or prefix offensive, with the union replacing “manpower” with “people/human power.” The union also suggested using gender-neutral pronouns, such as “they/them.”
The ALPA defended its guidelines in a statement to Fox News, arguing that it is simply “opening the doors of opportunity”:
Flying is the safest mode of transportation in the world thanks in large part to airline pilots, professionals that are all held to the highest training and qualification standards. There are real threats to aviation safety like efforts to replace pilots with automation or lower training and experience standards, but opening the doors of opportunity to ensure we have a robust supply of qualified aviators isn’t one of them.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety team representative Kyle Bailey told the outlet that “diversity really has nothing to do with safe travel.”
“It’s basically all a matter of flight time, your credentials, your background, how much flight experience you have and also your training,” the aviation expert said.
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