Woman's LinkedIn headshot goes viral for showing off tattoos

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Tattoos gaining acceptance in the workplace

A new study reveals that the earnings of visibly inked employees are statistically indistinguishable from employees without tattoos.

Jessica Leonard got a pleasant surprise when it came time to take professional headshots at her new job.

Instead of having to cover her tattoos with a blazer, her boss gave her the OK to display her intricate sleeve tattoos "loud and proud," according to a viral LinkedIn post she shared.

The post, which features side-by-side headshot photos of Leonard with and sans blazer, has received more than 31,550 reactions on the career development website. It also sparked conversations from thousands of LinkedIn users who have different views on tattoos in the workplace.

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Leonard, 36, began working at Evolution Capital Partners – a Cleveland-based private equity firm, in September 2021.

Jessica Leonard got a pleasant surprise when it came time to take professional headshots for her new role at Evolution Capital Partners. (Wetzler Studios)

When Leonard met with a photographer to update her professional headshots for her new role as partner, she asked her managing partner if she had permission to take a photo with her blazer on for the firm’s use and a photo without her blazer for personal use on LinkedIn. To Leonard’s surprise, Evolution Capital Partners was more than happy to use her fully-visible tattoo photo on the company website.

In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, Leonard said, "I was honestly shocked. I had grown accustomed to wearing long sleeves in the heat of summer, to tugging on my suit coat sleeves in every meeting, to pulling my hair around my ear so no one would get a glimpse of the small tattoo behind my ear, to avoiding getting any leg or ankle tattoos for fear of never being able to wear a skirt again in a business setting. Very often, I simply felt that I needed to be careful about when I was being too freely me."

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Leonard went on to say she was surprised by the personal stories people have shared about bias and judgment in the workplace since going viral. 

"It was particularly moving to learn that people related this to so much more than tattoos," Leonard said. "While we still have a lot of work to do, we’re moving in the right direction on removing bias and judgment on the basis of many issues, including race, gender, hair color and length, makeup, weight, and so much more."

She continued, "This experience has certainly left a mark on me and has been the encouragement I needed to continue evaluating and breaking through my own biases to be a more open-minded and welcoming human being. I hope in some way this type of impact has been felt by others as well."

Instead of having to cover her tattoos with a blazer, Jessica Leonard's boss gave her the OK to display her intricate sleeve tattoos "loud and proud," according to a viral LinkedIn post she shared. (Jessica Leonard)

Tattoos have become more common in the U.S. as an increasing number of people seek out body ink to express themselves. Industry market research firm IBISWorld estimates that 46% of Americans have at least one tattoo. The firm credits the rapid growth to the millennial generation and predicts that stigma around permanent body art will continue to diminish with each successive generation.

The personal style and cultural choice have also been welcomed in recent years among grandparents celebrating life milestones.

More recently, New Zealand news anchor Oriini Kaipara made history and international headlines as the first news presenter to host a primetime news program with a moko kauae tā moko – a traditional Māori face tattoo.

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An open-to-the-public LinkedIn News poll from June 2021 sought feedback from users about tattoos in the workplace. 

Out of the 24,439 poll respondents, 64% voted that they think tattoos are OK at work and are "normal at this point," 10% voted that they think tattoos aren’t OK at work and "are unprofessional" and 26% voted that they’re on the fence about the topic and it would depend on whether the tattoos are visible.

When Jessica Leonard met with a photographer to update her professional headshots for her new role as partner, she asked her managing partner if she had permission to take a photo with her blazer on for the firm’s use and a photo without her blazer for personal use on LinkedIn. (Jessica Leonard)

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"The pandemic ushered in an entirely new era of working with the dramatic rise in working from home," LinkedIn Career Expert Drew McCaskill told Fox. "Through video conferencing, we got a window into our teammate’s homes and, oftentimes, the more personal aspects of their lives for the first time ever and this sparked a huge shift in what we think of as ‘professional,’ and personal style – things like tattoos, casual wear – has been a big part of that conversation."

McCaskill continued, "It’s a great time to discuss what you want at work and that includes culture. There is no one-size-fits all for someone’s career journey, because everyone’s background, story, identity and goals are unique to them – the best thing to do is have a conversation with your manager and ask them openly."