Western Daily Press

EasyJet campaign to tackle job stereotype­s

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A NEW recruitmen­t campaign by easyJet is aiming to tackle job stereotype­s and inspire more young people to consider a career in aviation, including encouragin­g more girls to become pilots.

The airline has released a recruitmen­t film based on scenes from the ‘80s blockbuste­r film Top Gun, in which the lead pilot roles were played by an all-male cast.

EasyJet’s film sees roles reversed, with girls playing the lead roles.

The launch of the campaign follows new research by the budget carrier which suggested that people believe gender stereotype­s are dominating Hollywood films.

A survey of 3,000 parents and their children showed that four in five said Hollywood perpetuate­s gender stereotype­s when it comes to job roles for men and women.

Most of the parents said there are misconcept­ions that being a pilot is a job for men.

With around 6% of pilots worldwide being women, easyJet has been trying to tackle the gender imbalance for a number of years and has doubled the number of female pilots in its ranks since 2015.

Chief executive Johan Lundgren said: “Top Gun is one of the most famous aviation films of all time, so we wanted to create our own rendition of the movie that was both entertaini­ng and inspiring to a younger audience, to show young people that they don’t have to be limited by outdated stereotype­s of jobs in the industry.

“EasyJet has long championed greater diversity across our business and the industry and, while we have made important progress in areas like our pilot community, there is still work to do.”

 ?? Matt Alexander/PA Wire ?? Olivia Joohee-Riddington, left, aged 9 and Rei Diec, 7 during filming of a parody of the movie Top Gun at Luton Airport as part of easyJet’s nextGen recruitmen­t campaign
Matt Alexander/PA Wire Olivia Joohee-Riddington, left, aged 9 and Rei Diec, 7 during filming of a parody of the movie Top Gun at Luton Airport as part of easyJet’s nextGen recruitmen­t campaign

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