As the beauty industry once again ‘turns pink’ for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the world’s leading oncology aesthetics trainer has warned salons not to discriminate against cancer survivors who want to work in the industry.
Morag Currin, the founder of Oncology Esthetics Training International (OTI), says that although many salons “proudly display their pink ribbons” many “won’t hire the breast cancer survivors whom they rightly claim to be warriors”.
Currin, who joined forces with Derma Aesthetics last year to launch Australia’s first oncology aesthetics registered practioners’ program, said cancer survivors are “regularly, and legally, discriminated against”.
“When a person ‒ particularly one in authority ‒ tells a cancer survivor that they can’t do something, they are inflicting psychological damage on another human being,” she said.
“This practice must end.”
She cited the case of an aesthetician in the US “with over 20 years of experience in the beauty industry, including aesthetician work and oncology training” who was discriminated against after being treated for cancer.
“Leslie Syron shouldn’t have had any trouble getting a job in the spa industry but her status as a cancer survivor left her open to hiring discrimination by spa managers,” said Curran.
“Leslie was 47 years old when a routine mammogram revealed she had Stage Three breast cancer. Leslie underwent chemotherapy, radiation, and a double mastectomy. She fought for her life, and she won.
“She had once had her own studio, but given the physical and financial strain of cancer, she was forced to give it up. Now cancer-free, she was eager to return to her passion, which was working in the spa industry.
“However, Leslie was confronted with odd questions during her job interviews. She had written an article for an industry magazine about her diagnosis, and now, it seemed to be the only thing her potential employers cared to ask her about.
“These interviews didn’t revolve around Leslie’s skill and decades of experience. They consisted of questions such as “Do you still have a lot of doctors’ appointments?” and “Are you done with all your cancer stuff?”.
“They were paranoid about hiring someone who had once been sick, despite her admirable fight and recovery – even though it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against someone for their cancer history if they are qualified for their position.
Curran readily acknowledges that Leslie’s discrimination case, and the other ones she is aware of, have occurred in the US, but stresses “no cancer survivor in our industry anywhere in the world should be subject to discrimination due to a disease when she is still capable of working”.
For more news and updates, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.