Virgin Atlantic Introduces Gender-neutral Uniform Policy, Pronoun Badges

"It’s so important that we enable our people to embrace their individuality and be their true selves at work."

British airline Virgin Atlantic updated its uniform policy, allowing staff to wear the clothing they feel represents them and introducing optional pronoun badges.

Flight crew, pilots, and ground crew will be permitted to wear clothing they feel best represents them, regardless of their gender, gender identity, or gender expression, according to Virgin Atlantic. The uniform policy now also allows optional makeup as well as visible tattoos for crew members and front line staff.

Virgin’s uniforms, which are designed by Vivienne Westwood, include options for pants, skirts, blazers, and ties.

The airline also introduced pronoun badges, which crew can choose to wear, with options like “she/her” or “they/them.”

“At Virgin Atlantic, we believe that everyone can take on the world, no matter who they are,” Juha Jarvinen, Virgin Atlantic’s chief commercial officer, said in a statement. “That’s why it’s so important that we enable our people to embrace their individuality and be their true selves at work. It is for that reason that we want to allow our people to wear the uniform that best suits them and how they identify and ensure our customers are addressed by their preferred pronouns.”

In addition, Virgin Atlantic will update its ticket system to recognize passengers whose passports include gender neutral gender markers. Earlier this year, the United States introduced the option to select “X” under gender on passports, indicating "unspecified or another gender identity.” Several other countries also allow travelers to self-select their gender on their passports, including Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, and Canada.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has also started offering a new gender option on applications for its PreCheck program, allowing applicants to select "another gender" in addition to "male" and "female" options.

Last year, German airline Lufthansa adopted new gender-neutral language on its flights, joining other airlines with similar policies like Japan's JAL, European budget carrier EasyJet, and Air Canada.