Lo aceptes o no, estés de acuerdo o no, te ofenda o no, todo esto forma parte del siglo XXI y es mejor comprenderlo.
I think we all, as nail professionals, recognise the absolute need for diversity and inclusivity. Whether it is referring to staff or clients, we MUST NOT discriminate against any of the 9 protected characteristics named in the Equality Act 2010. These are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or beliefs, sex or sexual orientation.
Pero, ¿por qué discriminar? Si una persona es buena en su trabajo, ¿qué importa su raza o sexo? Si un cliente está dispuesto a pagarte por un servicio, ¿qué importa el color de su piel, su sexo o el género con el que se identifique?
I see far too many ‘shock horror’ questions on Facebook that a woman has booked in for enhancements, for example, but she used to be a man! So??
Basta con un poco de educación, comprensión y amabilidad humana. Desde un punto de vista puramente comercial, hay un mercado enorme al que le encantaría sentirse cómodo y bienvenido cuando le hacen las uñas o cualquiera de los otros servicios y tratamientos de belleza.
Let focus on some of the common ones that pop up – gender, being transgender, gender identity and (what is STILL so scary for some) HIV.
You may have noticed that there is often in current times, a pronoun disclosure associated with a person e.g her/she, he/him, they/them (I noticed it on the recent Glow Up series for the contestants). I, personally, have come across this for several years as there are many fashion models that identify as non-binary or trans. I have to admit that the “they/them” pronouns took a bit of getting used to. If I thought I may have got it wrong, then it just takes the question “did I get that right?’ and all is good.
Si una situación así te ofende, entonces tienes que informarte más sobre el tema. Tú eres el profesional y ellos son los clientes. No puedes discriminar. Fin de la cuestión.
For many that are trans it can be a difficult journey (as can a lot of things in life!) Being accepted without judgement is all that is needed. Maybe pronouns could be a useful question on consultation forms? It could help to avoid offending and it is common practice now in so many situations.
Let’s move onto HIV. This sits under the “disability” aspect of protected characteristics. Many of us will have been trained to avoid any clients with HIV, or, at the very least, treat them like second class citizens that will infect the human race. Well, times have changed!
He invitado a Sam Marshall a añadir sus pensamientos en este Blog. Ella es una gran defensora de la comprensión del VIH y los temas LGBTQIA+ y está mucho mejor versada en este vasto tema que yo.
SM : People living with HIV on effective treatment can now live a long, full and healthy life. Also, most people living with the virus are “UNDETECTABLE” which also means they are “UNTRANSMISSABLE” which basically means you cannot catch it off them.
They also do not have to disclose their status to anyone, and you should not be asking them. Logically if you ask the question, you will then need to refuse treatment to anyone who hasn’t had a negative test recently or someone positive who isn’t undetectable and have a valid reason on your risk assessment.
In short, their status is none of your business. If you encountered a needle stick injury, abrasion from a file that drew blood or another way of getting blood in your skin (you wear gloves for starters!) then you would follow the same procedure regardless of the situation.
It is actually really hard to contract HIV and there have been no known cases in the nail, hair or beauty industries. Ever. As for companies asking if clients have AIDS… well… you cannot have AIDS, you die of an AIDS related illness and you would not be trotting out for a quick mani!
Si esta pregunta figura en sus formularios de consulta, por favor, quítenla. He cuestionado a muchas empresas por este motivo y ninguna me ha dado una razón decente.
Para más información, visite www.tht.org.uk o www.ght.org.uk y no dude en enviarme un correo electrónico directamente a [email protected]
Para obtener más información sobre la sensibilización de las personas trans, tengo un seminario web que se celebrará el 30 de septiembre.th June 7pm-9pm along woth Keri from “Hair Has No Gender” priced at just £45.
Para reservar, haga clic en este enlace:
@beautygurusam
To conclude: we are a service industry dealing with members of the public. Do not dis-count a vast section of humanity because either you don’t understand, or you’re offended. Every adult is a potential client. Welcome all, make all feel comfortable and welcome, even make a point of welcoming all the LGBTQIA+ communities and people living with HIV to your salons. They are paying clients who just want acceptance (and no, you’re NOT going to ‘catch’ anything’!)
