Pantene Launches Campaign To Support LGBTQIA+ Workers In Showing Their True Identity At Work

May. 25, 2022

Together with creative agency Valtech Radon, Pantene now launches the third chapter of the long-term initiative #HairHasNoGender – exploring the power of hair in identity and self-expression. The chapter focuses on LGBTQIA+ workers' professional situations and encourages organizations to create safer and more inclusive workplaces for LGBTQIA+ employees to be able to express their full identity, including wearing the hair they want.

Research has revealed that 53% of LGBTQIA+ feel the need to hide their identity at work, and fewer than 0.3% of Fortune 500 board directors were openly LGBT in 2020. Based on these insights, Pantene now launches the third chapter of #HairHasNoGender, exploring both the power of hair to express identity and the power of having support from those around us to enable that self-expression in the workplace. In addition to the launch of a campaign film, Pantene also releases educational resources for organizations to create a more inclusive workplace. These resources were co-created with the cast members and several different associations across the globe, including OUTLEADERSHIP and TheDressCode 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 can not 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."

 

In the campaign film created by Valtech Radon, Pantene teamed up with its largest cast to date, including 12 different members across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum from the UK, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, and Greece. Aiming to bring light to the reality for a diverse representation of LGBTQIA+ 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 workplace 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"