People whose job is to help or serve customers or guests, like parking attendants or flight attendants on airplanes.
From Latin 'attendere' (to turn toward), combining 'ad-' (toward) and 'tendere' (to stretch). The word originally meant someone who waits on others.
The job title 'flight attendant' replaced 'steward' and 'stewardess' in the 1960s to eliminate gender bias, showing how language evolves to reflect changing social values and the push for equality in the workplace.
Historically gendered female (stewardesses, nurses, waitresses); male variant often unmarked (steward). Service roles systematically feminized in language and labor markets.
Use 'flight attendant,' 'nurse,' 'server' (role-specific) instead of gendered compounds. Avoid gendering service roles.
["flight attendant","care worker","server","assistant"]
Women comprise ~80% of service sector globally; feminization of language reflects and reinforces wage suppression and devaluation of care work.
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