Creating appearance-inclusive environments

21 March 2024

Creating inclusive workplace environments where everyone feels they belong is essential for businesses and organisations that want to thrive. To understand more about visible differences, we connected with Laura Mathias, a visible difference campaigner who sits on diversity panels across arts and media organisations. Laura shares her own journey, reflects on what it’s like to be a bald woman in the workplace and provides great, practical advice for employers.

Appearance matters (but should it?)

After months of waiting, I was finally gifted a pair of hair straighteners aged 13. But I would never get to use them; my hair started falling out just a few months later. It was my hairdresser who spotted the first bald patch, about the size of a 50p coin, at the back of my head. She held a mirror up for me to inspect it, but all I could see was the concern in her eyes. In that moment, I felt something I wasn’t used to - shame.

For six months, I refused to go to school due to my fast-developing alopecia. I only felt able to return once that same hairdresser shaved what was left of my shoulder length brown hair and ‘fit’ a wig for me. I walked out of the salon that night and didn’t go out again without a wig for 17 years. Instinctively, I believed I must look the ‘same’ as others to succeed in life. So, when entering the world of work, I kept quiet. In refusing to declare my alopecia, I was taking control of my condition; I was refusing to be defined by my difference…right?

The truth is I was unable to talk to anyone at work about it and this was a huge source of anxiety for me during the onboarding process and beyond. I was expending energy, that I should have been using on work tasks, worrying about how to respond if a colleague noticed my artificial hairline, or asked about my pencilled-on brows. I would go to extremes to avoid these conversations, using annual leave when it was time to get a new wig, or booking semi-permanent eyebrow procedures so I had time to heal. I would come back looking ‘different’ but hoping the break would make the ‘elephant’ in the room less obvious. Besides, these actions were necessary to assimilate, to disguise a difference of a bigger kind – being a bald woman.

Laura Mathias, visible difference campaigner

Supporting colleagues to embrace their difference

Now, a decade into my career, I see actions I could have taken to make working life easier when navigating an appearance-altering condition like alopecia – and yes, building resilience is one of them. But, more importantly, I now expect my employer to empower me to discuss the reasonable adjustments I need to perform well, and without bias, at work.

These may not be physical adaptions, a huge barrier for the visible difference community is an attitudinal one. Whether it’s a mark or scar that makes a person look different (eg psoriasis or acne), a condition they are born with or acquired in life (eg cleft lip or burn), an experience that is short-term or life-long (post-surgery or birthmark), everyone deserves to be treated with respect, regardless of their appearance. And while behavioural change is tough to implement and measure, there are things we can all do to role model inclusive behaviours and ensure that when we talk about diversity, equity and inclusion we consider appearance-related experiences too.

Overcoming unconscious bias

For those of us with a visible condition that confronts the expected norm, curiosity is a natural response. But imagine having the same question asked, day in and day out, about your appearance when you just want to work. I’ve had colleagues I don’t know approach me in a busy office to loudly enquire after my health. Well-meaning? Perhaps. Awkward? Definitely. Especially when my answer seems to confuse them…

Every day, we make assumptions about the people and environment around us. It’s literally how we survive. So, to see a happy, healthy, bald woman at work, or attending an interview, might create a moment of cognitive dissonance. But for the person with visible difference, the impact is much worse than mere confusion. Studies show that those with a visible difference face discrimination when it comes to applying for, or attending, jobs - a fellow campaigner was told, “we can’t hire you with a face like that.”

Steps to appearance-inclusion

In the UK, 1 in 5 people self-identify as having a visible difference so it’s time to start considering how your organisation is considering the needs of those, like me, who are navigating the complex emotional burden of ‘looking different’.

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have created guidance around creating appearance-inclusive workplaces outlining what best practice looks like:

Avoid assumptions – champion the needs of the individual colleague.
Consider language – ask a colleague how they prefer to describe their condition.
Reduce opportunities for bias – in recruitment and beyond.
Be proactive - encourage all colleagues to broaden their understanding of a diverse lived experiences through internal training and communications.

What does ‘professional’ look like anyway?

In a world where we’re encouraged to bring our ‘authentic selves’ to work, I have finally taken this to mean I can embrace my visible difference despite media representation, and real-life feedback, telling me that being a bald woman means I will look ‘scary’, ‘confuse clients’ or be seen as the ‘ill kid’. In these moments of microaggression, I wish I’d known my right to say: “my appearance does not impact my ability to do my job, your reaction to it does.”

In and out of work, let’s get out of the habit of commenting on each other’s appearance. I refuse to hide my hair loss to be considered ‘professional’ or ‘palatable’ - never again will I allow myself to feel shame for looking different.

Thank you to Laura for sharing her story with honesty and power. What is your organisation doing to build an inclusive environment for visible difference? You can read more about Laura’s campaigning work via the Changing Faces website or follow her via @RelightAlopecia.