Pantene urges LGBTQ+ community to show their true identity at work
Pantene has released the latest chapter of its ‘Hair Has No Gender’ initiative, which explores the power of hair when it comes to identity and self-expression. This installment focuses on LGBTQ+ workers and encourages organizations to create safer and more inclusive workplaces where members of the community can express their full identity.
Research has shown that 53% of LGBTQ+ people feel the need to hide their identity at work and fewer than 0.3% of Fortune 500 board directors were openly LGBTQ+ in 2020.
Pantene has based the third instalment of its ‘Hair Has No Gender’ campaign on these insights. In collaboration with creative agency Valtech Radon, the haircare brand has released a campaign film alongside educational resources to help organizations make workplaces more inclusive. These resources were created alongside the spot’s cast members as well as several associations including Outleadership and The Dress Code Project.
Helene Graffner, communications director hair care Europe at Procter & Gamble, said: “In 1992, P&G was among the first companies in the world to include sexual orientation in its diversity statement. But still, 30 years later, many LGBTQIA+ workers feel they cannot be themselves at the workplace. We know that hair is part of that equation and that being able to wear the hair you want makes you feel more powerful and productive. Through this campaign we want to encourage employers to join in the work to create better workplaces for all, as we know the positive effects that will have.“
To create the spot itself, Pantene teamed up with its largest cast to date, including 12 different members across the LGBTQ+ spectrum from the UK, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Greece.
Aiming to bring light to the reality for a diverse representation of LGBTQ+ workers, the cast members hail from different industries, including an assistant professor, a lawyer, a model, a racing driver, a fashion designer, a carpenter, a plant worker and an artist. Despite their professional differences, their workplaces experiences are in many ways similar.
Petter Rudwall, creative director at Valtech Radon, said: “Creating this campaign, it became very obvious that the issues LGBTQIA+ workers face at work really concern us all, they are present in most industries and most organizations all over the world. Whether leading a racing company or a team of professors – or a bunch of creatives at an agency for that matter – making the workplace a safer environment for LGBTQIA+ workers is up to all of us. The stories of our cast strongly convey that message.”