Chief Executive Officer, AIM WA | Emeritus Professor | Social Affairs and Workplace Expert |Workplace Trend Spotter|Columnist |Director|LinkedIn Top Voice 2018 | Speaker |Content Creator

I am a former academic turned social trends and workplace specialist, Board director, keynote speaker, newspaper columnist, and most importantly, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute of Management in Western Australia (AIM WA).

My passion is inspiring better workplaces.  I like to ignite discussions around workplace themes and topics, and I use my column in Perth’s The Sunday Times – called “Workplace Matters” – to get conversations started right here on LinkedIn.

I also have an interest in what’s trending in our non-work lives too, so you’ll see that I post pieces on here about various social affairs topics.

And, if you happen to follow what happens in the higher education sector, you might be interested in some of my Business News’ Education pieces which I regularly publish here too.

For me LinkedIn is all about having conversations.  So feel free to follow me, and join the chat.

Professor Gary Martin FAIM

RESPECT is now part of almost every values statement.

Making it instinctive, consistent and visible is the challenge still before us.

#respect #management #leadership #humanresources #hr #work #workplace #AIMWA

Cartoon used under licence:  CartoonStock

I help women break free from limiting workplace cultures, from career stagnation, and from the hidden cost of performing “professionalism.”

I’m Gloria Tabi, Organisational Justice Specialist, TEDx Speaker, and author of Inclusive Teams and Workplaces, and ENOUGH: How One Woman’s Truth Became a Roadmap for Change.

For years, I wore wigs to work, hiding the hair I was born with to fit into workplaces that weren’t built for me. I know what it feels like to shrink yourself to survive. Now, I help others stop shrinking.

Through my one-on-one coaching, I guide women, especially Black and culturally diverse women, who feel stuck in their careers to use their truth as a strategy. No more wasting money on wigs or dimming your brilliance to be seen as “enough.”

I also partner with organisations through EVERYDAY INCLUSION, using my lived experience, research, and the DEIT Framework to help teams build truly inclusive workplaces—where everyone can thrive for team success.

🔹 Online training for managers & teams
🔹 “Inclusion Champion” staff development
🔹 Keynote speaking & strategic consultation
🔹 Author of two books

📩 Let’s talk: gloria@everydayinclusion.com.au 

Watch my TEDx Talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrVkD2mz6yc&t=2s

Gloria Tabi (author of Inclusive Teams and Workplaces)

Who gets hired.
Who gets promoted.
Who is seen as “capable.”

Sometimes, it has nothing to do with talent, and everything to do with hair.

Research backs this up.

A 2023 study co-commissioned by Dove and LinkedIn found that Black women’s hair is 2.5 times more likely to be labelled “unprofessional.”

Pause on that for a moment.

Hair that grows naturally from someone’s head is still being used as a signal of competence.

Not skills.
Not leadership ability.
Hair.

True to my leadership style, I believe we need to have honest conversations about the things we quietly accept in workplaces.

Because bias doesn’t disappear just because we don’t name it.

So let me ask a frank question to leaders and decision-makers:

When you picture a “professional” woman in your mind, what does her hair look like?

Straight?
Neatly controlled?
Close to Eurocentric beauty standards?

Or does it include curls, coils, locs, braids, and natural textures?

The uncomfortable truth is that workplaces often reward what feels familiar, and what feels familiar is often shaped by long-standing beauty hierarchies.

Which leads to another important question:

Do people with visibly natural or textured hair exist in leadership roles in your organisation?

If not, it may not be about talent.
It may be about perception.
And perception can quietly shape opportunity.

As leaders, the real challenge is this:

How do we move beyond ingrained ideas about what “professional” hair looks like and start evaluating people on their capability instead of their hair?
How do we create workplaces where women can show up with the hair they were born with, without stigma, without pressure to alter it, and without it influencing how their competence is judged?

Because a truly inclusive workplace is not just about who is hired.

It’s about who feels safe enough to show up as themselves once they arrive.

So, I’m curious to hear from this community:

Have you ever seen hair influence perceptions of professionalism in the workplace, even subtly?

And more importantly, what are leaders doing to change that?
💛 I’d love to hear your thoughts. Share below👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾
💛 Know someone who needs to see this? Hit share ♻️
💛 Change begins with conversations like these. Thanks for being part of it.


Additional resources/Books:
✅Inclusive Teams & Workplaces: Everyone Wins!! https://lnkd.in/gD8EVUcw
✅ENOUGH: How One Woman's Truth Became A Roadmap For Change: https://lnkd.in/gi8hSKii







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🌐Gloria Tabi
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Professor Gary Martin FAIM

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taplio

The Battle

Professor Gary Martin FAIM

Gloria Tabi (author of Inclusive Teams and Workplaces)

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Professor Gary Martin FAIM's LinkedIn Performance

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