United to allow staff to wear makeup, nail polish and have long hair regardless of gender

United is set to become a whole lot more united, with a new set of appearance standards for customer-facing staff. The airline is relaxing rules around hair length, make-up and nail polish and tattoos. The changes apply to all staff regardless of gender. A change in rules was signalled last month when the airline told staff it had "spent the last several years listening to the feedback we've received from our employees," and it had realised its "customer-facing teammates can provide an even better experience for our customers when they look and feel their best". The announcement to staff was accompanied by an image of a male identifying crew member wearing makeup and coloured nail polish, as well as a rainbow badge on his jacket. "We're confident that these modernised and more gender-inclusive appearance standards will provide a more authentic representation of the people and cultures that make United the company it is today," Kate Gebo, the executive vice president of the airline's department of human resources department said. The changes will initially only impact customer service staff and flight attendants, but the airline plans to implement the same rules to all staff including pilots and ramp workers within a few months.<br/>