Gender Aspects of the Flight Attendant Profession in the 21st Century: From 'Sky Sisters' to the Future Crew The word \"stewardess\" still evokes the image of a smiling young woman in impeccable form, with perfect hair and careful makeup. This stereotype, spread by cinema and advertising, has become so ingrained in public consciousness that the profession of flight attendant is still perceived as \"female.\" However, the history of aviation knows periods when men dominated the cabin, and today the industry is undergoing a new transformation: airlines are increasingly striving for gender balance, and passengers are no longer linking service quality to gender. How and why has the gender portrait of a flight attendant changed, what stereotypes continue to live in the 21st century, and what will the future crew look like? Historical Paradox: From 'Youngs' to 'Sky Sisters' Today, looking at the statistics where women make up 75-79% of flight attendants in the United States and up to 90% in some Russian airlines, it is hard to believe that in the first decades of commercial aviation this profession was almost completely monopolized by men. The history began in 1912 when Henri Kubeis, a waiter at the Paris hotel Ritz, became the first flight attendant serving passengers on the German Zeppelin. At that time, they were called \"youngs\" (cabin boys), and their presence in the cabin was considered necessary for safety: flights were risky, and passengers felt more secure in the presence of men who were believed to be better able to handle emergencies. A turning point came in 1930 when nurse Ellen Church, who dreamed of becoming a pilot but was rejected due to her gender, proposed to Boeing Air Transport to hire nurses as flight attendants. The idea turned out to be commercially successful: passengers, predominantly men, felt in safe hands, and airlines got the opportunity to use the image of a young, caring woman as part of their brand. Thus, the profession of \"sky nurse ... Read more