At Disney Parks, worker insurance policies are being revised as a part of a broader inclusivity aim

Disney is redesigning its cast and guest inclusivity initiatives to allow employees to express themselves more freely through gender-specific costumes and hairstyles.

Disney

A new initiative within Disney’s parks division means that performers don’t have to cover their tattoos and can style themselves in gender-specific costumes.

On Tuesday, Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, revealed the company’s update of the company’s dress and style code to make its employees and guests feel even more welcome at its theme parks.

“Moving forward, we believe that our cast, who are at the center of the magic that lives in all of our experiences, can deliver the best of Disney’s legendary guest service when they have more opportunities for personal expression – richer, more personal, and engaging experiences with our guests. “D’Amaro wrote a blog post on Disney’s website on Tuesday.

One of the first things any Disney performer learns when joining the park team is the “four keys” – safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency. These “keys” are guidelines for staff etiquette and aim to provide a seamless guest experience. For example, if a young guest drops a bucket of popcorn on the sidewalk on Main Street, one performer works quickly to provide that guest with a new bucket while another performer cleans up the spill.

Last fall, after 65 years, Disney added a fifth key – the inclusion.

“We want our guests to see their own backgrounds and traditions in the stories, experiences and products they encounter while dealing with Disney,” said D’Amaro. “And we want our performers – and future performers – to have a sense of belonging at work.”

This means offering more comprehensive products such as wheelchair costumes and LGBTQ Mickey ears, as well as redesigning the attractions in the parks to offer more variety.

Disney’s Parks, Experiences, and Consumer Staples division is expanding its merchandise collections to include more comprehensive items such as wheelchair costumes.

Disney

Disney has already started redefining a number of attractions, including its Jungle Cruise, and is turning Splash Mountain into a new adventure ride starring Princess Tiana and other characters from The Princess and the Frog.

Another important element of this strategy is to allow the performers to better express their personality while working in the parks.

Disney has always had a strict policy on how its park employees dress and present themselves in public. This included gender-specific rules on how men and women can wear their hair and style facial hair, as well as restricting what types of jewelry can be worn and requiring that tattoos be covered at all times.

Now there will no longer be segmented rules for male and female workers. D’Amaro stated that all performers will follow the same guidelines that include gender hairstyles, jewelry and nail styles. Performers must still adhere to some of the previous rules, such as: B. Maintaining natural hair colors and ensuring that your nameplate is never covered.

“The world is changing and we will change with it,” he said.

The costumes will also be more gender specific. Performers no longer have to choose between a male and female look depending on which part of the park they work in. You now have a wider variety of costume options. It will be more in line with how actors in the land of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge can combine different pieces of clothing to create their own personal look.

“Changes like this are strategic: we see study after study that the next generation of Disney fans and guests are rejecting gender stereotypes and longing to align values ​​with brands,” said Erin Uritus, president of Out & Equal , an organization that advocates LGBTQ employment equality, in a statement. Put simply, they want the companies they support to be as inclusive and forward-thinking as they are. This is a great moment for people everywhere to see Disney – a cult company – signal that everyone is welcome. “

“With these changes, the performers can bring their full, authentic selves to their work,” she said. “More Disney guests can be reflected in the diversity of people at all levels of the company.”

Disneyland is slated to reopen on April 30th with limited capacity to California residents. Disney’s Orlando-based parks and parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai have reopened to the public, while Disneyland Paris remained closed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.