Zara apologises for not allowing transwoman into female fitting room

Fashion brand Zara has apologised for an employee not allowing a trans woman into the women’s fitting room in Manila.

The individual who goes by @LuisMarasigan (Angelo Marasigan) on TikTok posted a video of the incident where she said a retail staff member had asked her to use the men’s fitting room instead. The video already has 9.7 million views with many netizens showing support for Marasigan. Some also called Zara to do better and handle the issue professionally in the future.

Since the video came to light, a brand representative reached out to Marasigan to invite her back to the store and offer perspectives on staff gender sensitivity training.

Diversity and inclusivity has become a huge push in recent times in the world of fashion and beauty.

According to a report by Deloitte, a 2021 Gallup poll said that LGBTQ identity has risen from 3.5% in 2012 to 5.6% in 2020—and includes one in six among Gen Z (ages 16 to 26) and this should inform the way brands speak to younger consumers, especially those in Gen Z.  The report added that 94% of Gen Zs expect companies to take a stand on important social issues, and 90% say they are more willing to purchase products that they deem beneficial to society.

Meanwhile, Zara as a brand has been also actively pushing diversity in its models. In May 2021, Zara launched its new cosmetics line, Zara Beauty, which was made available in China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, all of Europe, the US, Canada and Mexico. The line gradually rolled out in other countries. According to Zara, this was inspired by the slogan "There is no beauty, only beauties", with the goal of catering to each person's diversity of needs.

According to its parent company Inditex, the company boasts an inclusive corporate culture that fosters equal opportunities and takes a zero-tolerance stance towards all forms of discrimination. It has a Diversity and Inclusion Policy in place since 2017. Inditex is also a current member of organisations such as Open for Business and REDI which advocate for this LGBTQ+ inclusion and rights. Last year it also rolled out projects for the workplace integration of transgender and non-binary people.

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