United Airlines is becoming for LGBTQ friendly with new policies
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When booking travel, customers are typically forced to identify as one of two binary genders, male or female, a dilemma for customers who do not identify within this parameters. On March 22, United Airlines announced that they’d be the first United States airline to offer nonbinary gender options in all their booking channels. United travelers will have the option to use the gender neutral honorific Mx. (instead of Mr. or Ms.) during booking and in a MileagePlus customer profile. Customers can also identify as M(male), F(female), U(undisclosed) or X(unspecified), corresponding with the gender indicated on their passports or authorized identification.
“United is determined to lead the industry in LGBT inclusivity, and we are so proud to be the first U.S. airline to offer these inclusive booking options for our customers,” United’s Chief Customer Officer Toby Enqvist said in a news release. “United is excited to share with our customers, whether they identify along the binary of male or female or not, that we are taking the steps to exhibit our care for them while also providing additional employee training to make us even more welcoming for all customers and employees.”
To help implement inclusive change, United has worked with LGBTQ rights organization Human Rights Campaign, as well as the The Trevor Project on employee training initiatives including teaching employees about preferred pronouns and the persistence of gender norms, LGBTQ competency in the workplace and other steps to make the airline an inclusive space for customers and employees.
The Human Rights Campaign and The Trevor Project have helped United build inclusive policies and culture
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“At the Human Rights Campaign, we believe being acknowledged as the gender you identify with is part of treating everyone with dignity and respect,” Beck Bailey, acting director of the Workplace Equality Program, said in a news release. “By providing non-binary gender selection for ticketing and the gender-inclusive honorific Mx. in user profiles, United Airlines is taking an important step forward for non-binary inclusion.”
These inclusive measures will have more impact beyond easing the stress of travel for those whose identity typically adds yet another level of worry to all the acute pressures of flying. The visibility United is offering to people outside the gender binary may have immeasurable positive impact. “The Trevor Project is grateful for United Airlines’ support of our life-saving work on behalf of LGBTQ youth,” Amit Paley, CEO and Executive Director of The Trevor Project said in a news release. “We are thrilled to bring Trevor’s expertise on the mental health of LGBTQ people to United to ensure its employees maintain safe and inclusive spaces for LGBTQ employees and guests.”
To date, Oregon, Maine, Minnesota, Washington D.C., California, and, as of early 2019, New York, are the six states that offer nonbinary state IDs. And while a nonbinary U.S. Passport is not readily available from the State Department, a judge ruled in fall 2018 that the government must issue the document without forcing the applicant to prescribe to an inaccurate binary gender. More major airlines are expected to better accommodate gender neutral bookings soon, so customers’ legal information does not conflict with their booking information.