British Airways has announced plans to relax its rules on crew attire to make them more inclusive. All crew members will now be able to wear makeup, a bow tie or paint their nails regardless of their gender. The company has worked with their employees to update guidelines on attire, from wearing a three-day beard to allowable accessories and makeup, a company spokesman said in a brief statement.
“We are proud of all our employees at British Airways and are committed to an inclusive work environment,” the spokesperson told CNN. “We have worked with our people to create updated guidelines for grooming, beauty and accessories, allowing our colleagues to bring the best, most authentic version of themselves to work every day.”
According to the UK’s Guardian newspaper, BA’s latest memo urges staff to “be bold, be proud, be yourself.” The new guidelines will apply to everyone, “regardless of gender or gender identity,” a guide distributed to crews and the Bassa flight crew union said.
All pilots and cabin crew will now be able to carry a handbag, paint their nails or wear their long hair in a bun if they wish. While everyone will be able to wear eye makeup, for example, British Airways’ guide suggests to ”keep it to a minimum and don’t go too far.” As for nails, “keep it simple and wear one color of polish.”
Be bold, be proud, be yourself.
British Airways
The British airline is following in the footsteps Virgin Atlantic, which in late September removed the requirement for its staff to wear a gender-specific uniform, allowing men to wear skirts.
British entrepreneur Richard Branson’s company also introduced optional “pronoun badges” for both staff and passengers to show how they wish to be addressed: gender-specific pronouns such as “he” and “she” or neutral such as “elle.”
Virgin Atlantic, which wants to be “the most inclusive airline in the sky,” had already made makeup optional a few months ago and allowed visible tattoos for crew and employees in contact with the public. Within the IAG group – parent company that includes British Airways – the Spanish airline Iberia had already established a new “uniformity guideline” on June 1st, admitting, for example, makeup or nail polish for all genders.
