Jessica Leonard’s tattoo story went viral because it was an example of strong leadership that defied the norm and broke down that corporate bias.Īt the end of her LinkedIn post, which showed her two portraits (with and without her jacket), Leonard wrote: “Sometimes, you come across leaders who not only allow you to show up every day as you are, but they also expect it. Professionals are “supposed” to dress smartly, and anything against the norm – including open expressions of individuality like showing tattoos – tends to raise eyebrows. Rather, I think it stems back to systemic bias within the corporate environment, including in industries like insurance. I don’t think that’s an issue of people not encouraging self-expression. I think almost everyone likes the idea of that, but in practice, we have so much unconscious bias to remove before authenticity can be reached.Īsk yourselves: When was the last time you inwardly questioned someone else’s appearance at work? Perhaps you didn’t make a vocal comment, but you still looked at your colleague’s new piercing or their COVID lockdown mullet and thought: ‘That’s not very professional’ – or something along those lines. When talking to insurance professionals about improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in the industry, I often hear the phrase: ‘We want to encourage people to bring their authentic selves to work.’ Read next: IBA’s 5-Star Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 2022 award winners This left Leonard “honestly shocked” as someone who had hidden her ink behind long sleeves, even in the heat of summer, and someone who felt she needed to be careful about “being too freely me”. To Leonard’s surprise, the Evolution managing partner told her to “roll with the tattoos … loud and proud” in both the official website bio and her personal LinkedIn profile. In her LinkedIn post, she explains how she cautiously asked the managing partner if she could have a photo taken without her jacket – showing her inked-up arms – that she would use for personal use on LinkedIn. Leonard rocked up to the photo shoot in business dress with a jacket to cover her tattoo ‘sleeves’ on both arms.
Jessica Leonard became a partner at Cleveland-based private equity firm Evolution Capital Partners towards the end of 2021 and she needed a new professional headshot to post with her bio on their website. Recently, people have started asking: ‘Why?’Ī woman from Ohio, USA, went viral in January for a LinkedIn post she shared about showing her tattoos at work.