Qantas pilots target female colleagues, new CEO Vanessa Hudson in vile leaked discussions

Leaked comments from an online chat forum have sparked criticism of Qantas’ “ingrained” sexist culture.

Leaked discussions between Qantas pilots reveal disparaging comments at the expense of female colleagues. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Qantas pilots have used a “blokey” online chat forum to criticise their new boss, make crude jokes about women and moan about female pilots “spawning offspring”.

The Herald Sun can reveal a Qantas chatroom with dozens of employees is saturated with disparaging humour at the ­expense of women.

It is believed the forum is moderated by a Qantas captain.

In posts dating back to 2018, the resentment of those involved at management is clear in a high number of comments obtained by the Herald Sun.

Qantas CEO designate Vanessa Hudson was criticised in the online comments as well as other female colleagues. Picture: NCA Newswire

A Qantas insider said it showed the airline’s “sexist” culture was “ingrained” and institutionalised, thriving unchecked.

One contributor posts about women having an “advantage” over men in every area.

“They can go off, run their breeding program or get a cushy job in the office at twice the pay of the other full time ­office staff,” the post said.

It’s understood the post has been removed and the incident reported to the airline’s human resources department.

In another offensive post, a member of the group expresses similar sentiments.

That man wrote of “a rapid influx of female pilots of a certain age group spawning offspring and then wanting flexible work arrangements”.

Qantas pilots have used a ‘blokey’ online chat forum to make misogynistic comments about women.

Qantas targets for gender representation also come under attack, with one commenter arguing more qualified male pilots will be rejected in favour of women with lower skill levels.

He urges training and assessment standards be uniformly applied.

Some of the comments complained of women having ‘much more advantage’.

A recent post referring to the announcement of pilot scholarships for 50 female students criticises the company’s new chief executive Vanessa Hudson.

“Interesting the day we get a female CEO announced is the day we get advised of this overt discrimination,” he wrote.

The Herald Sun understands two of the pilots in the group are no longer with Qantas and a third is not flying while under investigation.

Qantas chief pilot Dick Tobiano said the comments were unacceptable and did not reflect the airline’s values.

“We have many talented female pilots at Qantas and we want to encourage a lot more of them. Aviation hasn’t been good at that historically and clearly some outdated thinking still exists in some pockets,” Mr Tobiano said.

Seven per cent of Qantas pilots are women and 15 per cent are female at QantasLink, compared with a figure of about five per cent worldwide. The carrier’s academy has about 20 per cent women on board.

Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) president Anthony Lucas said the comments about female pilots were “deplorable”.

“They could not be reasonably condoned in any decent workplace let alone in aviation, where co-operation and respect for your colleagues is crucial to doing your job effectively,” Mr Lucas said.

“I know the overwhelming majority of Australian pilots would find these views abhorrent, and it is important to note a handful of forum comments are not remotely representative of the broader group.”

It comes after a Qantas pilot who fought for gender equality announced last year she was suing the airline for discrimination and sexual harassment.

Davida Forshaw lodged proceedings in the Victorian Federal Court, claiming she had been sexually harassed by male colleagues. She alleged her ­career was hindered by male superiors who made inappropriate remarks and advances.

In February, Qantas applied to the Federal Court to throw out her case.

Ms Forshaw alleged she was told to dye her hair and wear a push-up bra if she wanted to succeed.

In documents filed in court, Qantas described her allegations as “an abuse of the court process”.