Disneyland’s new ‘gender inclusive’ staff rules
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro announced the policy change to the Disney Look, which regulates cast members' hairstyles, fingernail decoration, jewelry and theme park costumes
Disneyland will allow employees to choose from gender-inclusive hairstyles, fingernail styles, jewelry and theme park costumes that provide more flexibility of personal expression in a major change to the theme park’s dress code.
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro announced the gender-inclusive policy change to the Disney Look on Tuesday, April 13 in a post on the Disney Parks Blog.
“We want our guests to see their own backgrounds and traditions reflected in the stories, experiences and products they encounter in their interactions with Disney,” D’Amaro said in the Disney blog post. “And we want our cast members — and future cast members — to feel a sense of belonging at work.”
The new Disney Look policies go into effect immediately and will be in place when Disneyland and Disney California Adventure reopen on April 30 after a yearlong coronavirus closure.
Before the closure, the Disneyland resort had 32,000 cast members, Disney parlance for employees. Disneyland laid off at least 11,500 cast members and furloughed thousands more due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The change to the Disney
Look dress code will guide how cast members show up to work. All references to gender have been eliminated from the Disney Look guidelines. Under the policy changes, all cast members can show up to work in the gender-inclusive costume of their choosing. All cast members can choose the look that best suits them as an individual and how they wish to express themselves, according to Disney officials.
Previously, the Disney Look guidelines had specific rules on the length of men’s hair and sideburns. Men could not wear nail polish in the past. Disney famously did not allow mustaches and beards on men — a policy that has since changed. Previous Disney Look guidelines included specifics on female hairstyles and color.
Hairstyles still must be of a naturally occurring hue. Bright pink, green and blue
hair is still not permitted. Nail polish must be of one solid color with no charms or adornments.
The changes to the Disney Look policy also address tattoos. All cast members can now have visible tattoos provided they have no offensive language, symbols or nudity. Tattoos are not permitted on the face, head or neck and they can’t be larger than a cast member’s hand.
“Our new approach provides
greater flexibility with respect to forms of personal expression surrounding gender-inclusive hairstyles, jewelry, nail styles, and costume choices; and allowing appropriate visible tattoos,” D’Amaro said in the Disney blog post. “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.”
Out & Equal CEO Erin Uritus called Disney’s dress code policy change a “great moment for people everywhere” that signals everyone is welcome at Disneyland.
“Disney’s move is a powerful example of a company that is walking the walk on inclusion and belonging,” Uritus said in a statement released by Disney. “With these changes, cast members can bring their full, authentic selves to their work. More Disney guests will be able to see themselves reflected in the diversity of people across all levels of the company.”
Out & Equal, which advocates for LGBTQ workplace equality, partnered with Disney to help develop the new policies.
Disney has been striving to introduce more diversity and inclusivity into its theme parks, workforce and company culture.
Jungle Cruise will not return with the park, as the boat ride undergoes major storytelling updates to remove negative depictions of native people. Walt Disney Imagineering will update Splash Mountain to remove racist undertones inherent in the current backstory based on the controversial 1940s Disney movie “Song of the South” and add a new “Princess and the Frog” theme.
Inclusivity was added to the previous Four Keys — safety, courtesy, show and efficiency — that are taught to cast members during Disney Way orientation training.