A few interesting points made so far.
Firstly, I think it's very important to separate '(positive) discrimination', which is plainly illegal, and is not what easyJet are doing here, and 'positive action' which has been made legal, with some caveats, and is how easyJet are trying to operate this scheme.
My initial post was aimed at conjuring up some discussion and thoughts, yes, but I wasn't necessarily asking how people felt or why easyJet have pushed this initiative, which is quite obvious. The real question is: is what easyJet is doing completely legal? I'm not convinced it is.
What is it about females that makes them, specifically, have any more of a financial hurdle than anyone else? How can easyJet prove that the females selected for this scheme as equally as qualified as the males - who, let's remember, can't even apply for it!?
To reiterate, this is not about whether the scheme is fair or not, it's whether it's legal. Hence the title of the thread.