Woman slams Qantas for calling her 'Miss' instead of 'Doctor'

Yahoo News UK
Dr Siobhan O'Dwyer clapped back at critics after she tweeted about a QANTAS flight where cabin crew called her 'miss' instead of 'doctor', as an incident of casual sexism
Dr Siobhan O’Dwyer clapped back at critics. Source: Twitter/DrSiobhanO’Dwyer

A female academic has responded to public backlash after she slammed Qantas for calling her ‘Miss’ instead of ‘Doctor’, saying she was trying to highlight ‘everyday sexism’.

“This was not about my ego,” Dr Siobhan O’Dwyer tweeted on Sunday.

“It was about highlighting one of a thousand instances of sexism that women encounter every day.

“It’s not about the title, it’s about the fact that this wouldn’t have happened if I was a man.”

Dr O’Dwyer was boarding a Qantas flight when a flight attendant looked at her boarding pass which said ‘Dr O’Dwyer’ and instead addressed her as ‘Miss O’Dwyer’.

Dr O’Dwyer is a Senior Lecturer in Ageing and Family Care at the University of Exeter in the UK with a PhD, Bachelor degree and graduate certificate.

Her original post received over 8,000 likes and has set off public discussion about casual sexism, with passionate opinions supporting and attacking the academic.

Dr Siobhan O'Dwyer has received much 'vitriol' after her post about what she called sexism aboard a Qantas flight
Dr Siobhan O’Dwyer has received much ‘vitriol’ after her post. Source: Getty

However, she has received a barrage of hate mail from outraged members of the public. According to a recent post, she has asked Twitter to filter out threatening messages.

“Sincere apologies if you’ve contacted me for a legitimate reason & not had a response,” she tweeted on Thursday.

“In an effort to filter out the vitriol, Twitter has inadvertently filtered out some of the kindness & genuine enquiries. Bear with.”

READ MORE ON YAHOO NEWS UK:

BBC presenter Rachael Bland dies at 40 after cancer battle
Two Salisbury Novichock attack suspects are Russian spies, Theresa May says
Man, 66, has his wallet stolen as he’s dying from heart attack
Donald Trump hits out at ‘fraud’ tell-all book written by Watergate reporter
Japan typhoon: At least 11 dead and 600 injured after worst storm in 25 years

When asked about the specific incident, Qantas commented on their crew’s behaviour at large.

“We are extremely proud of our cabin crew who respectfully serve our customers day in and day out and play a vital safety role,” a Qantas spokesperson told Yahoo on Thursday.

“Our crew treat all passengers with the utmost respect regardless of age, gender and occupation.”