As a non-binary person, seeing the launch of Virgin Atlantic’s campaign this week, which welcomes all staff wearing whichever of its uniforms feels most comfortable, was incredibly empowering. Even more empowering though, was the work that has clearly been done behind the scenes to ensure this is much more than just a PR stunt.
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It’s no secret that when it comes to ED&I, the travel industry has some work to do. This is an area on which I consult… a lot. Awareness and understanding of minority groups is low and until relatively recently it hasn’t been a priority, but that is changing. No doubt the reported $218 billion value of the LGBT travel market has helped to focus the mind, but attitudes are also shifting. Recent research by the Human Rights Campaign suggests that 72 per cent of adults agree that “transgender people should have equal rights and be able to live free of violence and discrimination.” That, added to the fact that 42 per cent of adults in the United States personally know someone from the trans community means trans visibility is slowly inching up the agenda.
Virgin Atlantic appears to have done the necessary leg work. The airline worked with the Diversity Standards Collective bringing in trans representation to ensure the campaign was more than skin deep. And its mission is a great one! To become “the most inclusive airline in the skies.”
Of course, achieving this will rely on much more than what their employees choose to wear, but fortunately, in this instance, there is more. The airline is reportedly amending its trans inclusion policies to include time off work for transition related medical treatments, inclusive changing rooms and showers and the option for employees to include pronouns on their name badges, should they choose to do so. The airline has also updated its ticketing system to allow passport holders with gender neutral markers to use title Mx and select gender codes U or X on flight bookings – which is a huge step forward – although the scope of this is currently limited.
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