Kipper fleet macho, chauvinist and tribal
The Times: -
AN RAF pilot who has accused the Ministry of Defence of sex discrimination says that a top-ranking commander described women air crew as having “lumps in the wrong places”.
The remark, referring to women’s supposed difficulties in sitting in a cockpit, was condemned by counsel for the Ministry of Defence during an employment tribunal brought by a former Nimrod pilot. “The RAF disassociates itself from the comment,” David Barr, for the MoD, told the hearing in Central London.
Air Marshal Sir John Harris, now retired, a former commander of No 18 Group at RAF Strike Command in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, was alleged to have made the remark during a squadron anniversary event. “It was communicated at the highest level to Harris that these comments were not welcome,” Mr Barr said. One of the women attending was given a bunch of flowers “to show that these feelings were not shared by others”.
However, Mr Barr told the tribunal that it would be unfair to draw inferences about sex discrimination in the RAF on the basis of comments from one officer. The former pilot, a 30-year-old flight lieutenant identified as Mrs A, claims she was driven out by a culture of sexism and harrassment. She claims that she was asked by a commanding officer which colleagues she was going to sleep with, as there was “a large price on her head”.
She also claims the captain of her Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft flew low over a cruise ship so that male crew members could photograph topless women on the deck.
Mrs A, who became pregnant by a married high-ranking officer 20 years her senior, claims that colleagues at RAF Kinloss were “macho, chauvinist and almost tribal”. After returning from maternity leave Mrs A claims that although she was qualified to fly Nimrods she was only offered a job flying VC10s, which would have meant her serving overseas. She refused because she wanted to be with her baby. She took voluntary retirement in May 2001. The MoD rejects her claims.