A mounting wave of backlash is targeting Delta Airlines as conservatives rally against the company’s recently revealed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies, which critics argue are discriminatory. The controversy began to heat up after users on X (formerly Twitter) brought attention to Delta’s decision to drop the phrase “ladies and gentlemen” from its boarding announcements. This change is just one piece of a broader DEI strategy that has raised eyebrows among the airline’s customer base and beyond.
Fox News Business broke the story, revealing that the alteration in boarding language was driven by Delta’s DEI & Social Impact Officer, Kyra Lynn Johnson. Since stepping into this role in 2016, Johnson has pledged to “boldly pursue equity” within the airline. During a February 2021 panel discussion with other DEI leaders, Johnson shed light on her approach: “So we’re beginning to take a hard look at things like our gatehouse announcements. You know, we welcome ‘ladies and gentlemen.’ And we’ve asked ourselves, ‘Is that as gender inclusive as we want to be?’ You know, we’re looking at some legacy language that exists in some of our employee manuals. And getting to the root of the way some things are described and saying, ‘Does that actually send a message of inclusivity?’”
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Johnson’s changes initially flew under the radar, but they gained widespread attention following the release of new company guidelines in December 2020. These guidelines discouraged the use of “ladies and gentlemen” at boarding gates and emphasized the importance of using gender-neutral language. Delta employees were reminded that “there are more than two genders,” and were encouraged to use inclusive language that avoids the gender binary. A Delta spokesperson affirmed the company’s stance to Fox News, saying, “Delta encourages our people to use language that is inclusive of everyone as our global customer base includes a broad range of diversity in cultural backgrounds, identity, and experiences.” The airline’s CEO, Ed Bastian, has also expressed his support for these changes.
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