Flight attendant says Virgin Blue interview a sexist 'cattle yard'
SYDNEY (AFP) — A flight attendant who claims she was the victim of sex discrimination by Australian budget airline Virgin Blue told a tribunal Monday that its job interviews were little more than a "cattle yard" for young blonde women.
Theresa Stewart, 52, told an Anti-Discrimination Tribunal in Brisbane she was rejected for a job at the airline in late 2001, despite her 27 years' experience, because she didn't have the "Virgin flair".
She is one of eight former employees of the Ansett airline who claim they were refused jobs at Virgin Blue following Ansett's collapse because of their age and looks.
The women, aged from 36 to 56, are all expected to give evidence over the five-day hearing, the Australian Associated Press reported.
Stewart said she attended a Virgin Blue "assessment center" as part of her job application but was not asked about her experience. Instead, she was made to perform role plays and make up a "ditty" with other group members.
"It was a cattle yard; a one-hour holding area," she told the tribunal. "The assessment was designed to view a large number of people in a very short space of time to see how they look.
"They were after a certain look that appeals to Richard Branson. If you had two beautiful blonde girls, 25 and gorgeous, then they went to them like homing pigeons."
The airline was founded by British billionaire Branson but Australian transport and logistics group Patrick Corp now owns a controlling stake.
Stewart denied a suggestion by a barrister for the airline Chris Murdoch that she did not get the job because her unease with the role-playing was obvious.
Simon Hamlyn-Harris, barrister for the women, referred to an FHM magazine front cover as evidence of the look that Virgin Blue was seeking.
It showed Virgin staff posing seductively under the headline: "Brace yourself for travel turbulence: real life cabin crew without uniforms."
SYDNEY (AFP) — A flight attendant who claims she was the victim of sex discrimination by Australian budget airline Virgin Blue told a tribunal Monday that its job interviews were little more than a "cattle yard" for young blonde women.
Theresa Stewart, 52, told an Anti-Discrimination Tribunal in Brisbane she was rejected for a job at the airline in late 2001, despite her 27 years' experience, because she didn't have the "Virgin flair".
She is one of eight former employees of the Ansett airline who claim they were refused jobs at Virgin Blue following Ansett's collapse because of their age and looks.
The women, aged from 36 to 56, are all expected to give evidence over the five-day hearing, the Australian Associated Press reported.
Stewart said she attended a Virgin Blue "assessment center" as part of her job application but was not asked about her experience. Instead, she was made to perform role plays and make up a "ditty" with other group members.
"It was a cattle yard; a one-hour holding area," she told the tribunal. "The assessment was designed to view a large number of people in a very short space of time to see how they look.
"They were after a certain look that appeals to Richard Branson. If you had two beautiful blonde girls, 25 and gorgeous, then they went to them like homing pigeons."
The airline was founded by British billionaire Branson but Australian transport and logistics group Patrick Corp now owns a controlling stake.
Stewart denied a suggestion by a barrister for the airline Chris Murdoch that she did not get the job because her unease with the role-playing was obvious.
Simon Hamlyn-Harris, barrister for the women, referred to an FHM magazine front cover as evidence of the look that Virgin Blue was seeking.
It showed Virgin staff posing seductively under the headline: "Brace yourself for travel turbulence: real life cabin crew without uniforms."
