‘Women with grey hair are being edged out of the workplace’: Dove

Dove Canada has turned its iconic gold logo grey and is encouraging people do the same to their social media profile pics to fight ageism in the workplace.

The company’s #KeepTheGrey campaign doesn’t specifically mention Lisa LaFlamme, but it comes after the Globe and Mail reported that management at CTV news questioned LaFlamme’s decision to stop colouring her hair.

According to the report, CTV News Vice President Michael Melling asked who had approved the decision to “let Lisa’s hair go grey.”

LaFlamme was relieved of her duties last week after 35 years with the company. And while there’s no evidence that her hair colour was a factor in her dismissal, it has brought the topic of ageism in the workplace to light.

A Dove Canada tweet states: “Age is beautiful. Women should be able to do it on their own terms, without any consequences.”

A video attached to the tweet adds that “Women with grey hair are being edged out of the workplace.”

Age is beautiful. Women should be able to do it on their own terms, without any consequences Dove is donating $100,000 to Catalyst, a Canadian organization helping build inclusive workplaces for all women. Go grey with us, turn your profile picture greyscale and #KeepTheGrey pic.twitter.com/SW5X93r4Qj

— Dove Canada (@DoveCanada) August 21, 2022

CityNews reached out to the company for more information on the campaign.

It responded: “The Dove #KeepTheGrey campaign aims to rally support for women from being aged out, often in the prime of their careers, because they’ve chosen to wear their hair grey.”

“There is a lot of discussion about ageism right now and Dove wanted to harness that energy for good.”

Bell Media, the parent company of CTV, announced earlier last week that it will initiate a third-party workplace review of how LaFlamme’s dismissal was handled, saying it regrets how news of her departure “may have left viewers with the wrong impression about how CTV regards Lisa and her remarkable career.”

Bell Media initially called LaFlamme’s dismissal a “business decision,” without further elaboration.

In a video published on Twitter, the award-winning Canadian journalist said she was “blindsided” after being informed on June 29 that her contract would not be renewed and that the media outlet was going “in a different direction.”

With files from Lucas Casaletto and Michael Ranger of CityNews