One in 10 men think female flight attendants should have to wear heels

Only 4 per cent of women agreed with the policy

Female flight attendants often have different uniform requirements to their male counterparts (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

One in 10 British men think that female flight attendants should have to wear heels as part of their uniform, according to a new survey.

Some 10 per cent of male respondents said female cabin crew “definitely should” (4 per cent) or “probably should” (6 per cent) wear heels, compared to just 4 per cent of women surveyed.

The results were from a YouGov poll of 3,996 British adults conducted on 15 March.

Meanwhile, 31 per cent of men thought they “probably should not” have to wear heels compared to 29 per cent of women asked.

More women thought female crew “definitely should not” have to wear heels, with 57 per cent agreeing with the statement compared to 42 per cent of men.

The poll followed several recent stories about female flight attendants pushing back on “outdated” uniform policies that require them to wear heels as part of their mandated uniform.

Flight attendants at Spain’s Iberia airline launched a petition to protest their employer’s compulsory high heels rule, following the carrier’s first uniform revamp in 15 years.

When the new uniform policy was unveiled, women working for the airline found that, although they could wear trainers while in the air, they were still expected to wear high heels in airports and while boarding.

“I’m not stewardess Barbie!” reads the Change.org petition, started by Maria Fernandez. “Iberia: DO NOT force us to wear heels. Let us choose!”

Meanwhile, Australia’s largest trade unions wrote a letter to Qantas’ CEO earlier this month demanding that gendered and outdated uniform rules for staff be amended.

It called on Alan Joyce to “remove the requirement for women to wear make-up”, “allow women to wear low-heel shoes, including permitted loafers… with all uniform items, not just trousers”, and “consider whether heels and hosiery are still necessary at all”.