A crew is a group of people who work together on a task, such as running a ship, plane, film set, or construction site. They usually have different roles but share one main goal.
From Old French *creue* meaning “increase, reinforcement, troop,” originally about extra soldiers. In English it shifted to mean a group of workers or helpers on ships and then in many other settings.
A crew is like a human machine: each person is a moving part that must do their job for the whole thing to work. That’s why many crews practice routines over and over until they can act almost without talking.
In many domains (maritime, aviation, film, construction), 'crew' roles were historically dominated by men, and language sometimes assumed crews to be male by default. Women and gender-diverse crew members often faced exclusion or tokenization.
Use 'crew' as a gender-neutral collective and avoid assuming all crew members are men; specify roles without gendered titles unless individuals' genders are relevant and known.
["team","staff"]
Women have served in ship crews, flight crews, technical film crews, and emergency response teams, often challenging formal bans and informal barriers.
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