Disney finally drops strict gendered dress codes for theme park staff
Disney is modernising its staff policy in an inclusion drive (Mark Ashman/Disney/Getty)
Disney is ditching its famously strict gendered dress code for employees in an effort to improve inclusivity in all its theme parks.
The company announced on Tuesday (13 April) that there will no longer be segmented rules for male and female workers at the popular parks, including Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida.
Previously, Disney cast members had to abide by gender-specific rules that dictated the length and style of hair and beards and the type of jewellery they could wear.
This policy has now undergone a drastic revamp so that staff can dress in ways that better express their “cultures and individuality” at work, Disney said.
The change was announced by Josh D’Amaro, the chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, ahead of Disneyland’s grand reopening on 30 April.
“Moving forward, we believe our cast, who are at the centre of the magic that lives in all our experiences, can provide the best of Disney’s legendary guest service when they have more options for personal expression – creating richer, more personal and more engaging experiences with our guests,” D’Amaro wrote in a blog post on Disney’s website.
“Our new approach provides greater flexibility with respect to forms of personal expression surrounding gender-inclusive hairstyles, jewellery, nail styles, and costume choices; and allowing appropriate visible tattoos.
“We’re updating them to not only remain relevant in today’s workplace, but also enable our cast members to better express their cultures and individuality at work.”
Costuming, too, will be more gender inclusive: cast members will no longer have to choose between a male and female look based on what part of the park they work in, but will now have a wider range of costume options.
Disney’s parks, experiences, and products departments employ around 155,000 people, according to CNBC.
Cast members will still need to abide by some of the previous rules, however, like keeping hair natural colours and making sure their name tag is never covered.
