Since 2016, the Spanish airline Iberia had unofficially taken pregnancy tests to future flight attendants before hiring them. A practice widely criticized in Spain. The company announced the withdrawal of this measure, after being fined 25,000 euros by the Spanish Ministry of Labor.
In the Spanish daily El PaisHealth and Equality Minister Dolors Montserrat said the authorities “will continue to be extremely vigilant against any form of occupational discrimination based on sex, or any other reason.”
The airline defends itself
In its defense, the airline said the tests were only meant to ensure the safety of female flight attendants. In a communicated, Iberia announced: “we will continue to do everything necessary to ensure that pregnant women work in the best conditions, with all the guarantees and maximum safety, as we have always done”. She claims to have “never given up hiring a woman because she was pregnant”.
This is not the first time that an airline has been singled out for its sexism. In May 2017, two flight attendants for follow-up Frontier Airlines. They claimed to have been forced to take unpaid leave after having had their childbirth because the company refused to provide them with a space for them to express their milk.
Read also :
A shock campaign against sexism in advertising
No more sexist or discriminatory ads in Paris
