What about Male Estheticians?

It happened again. Another cringey moment on social media. It was a post in one of the many professional groups on Facebook. The original poster was a young solo female esthetician looking to grow her business by adding a team. She explained that she had interviewed a prospective esthetician who was talented and had a great professional manner. She said there was one major drawback that she needed advice and help getting over. He was a male esthetician. I could not believe my eyes as I read the responses by the “professionals” in this group. It ranged from convincing her that this would not be a good move for her business to figuring out how to manipulate messaging and market his gender as an advantage for her business.
All I could think about was how this post was bad on so many levels. I could imagine a time when the “one thing” that was a drawback would have been labels that disqualified me as acceptable or a good fit. It angered and frustrated me that people thought this was okay. It concerned me that in all the answers, no one truly addressed her as a businesswoman and give good advice on how to have a strategy to grow her business, incorporating the legal responsibility of being an employer and evaluating her business model to determine what employee profile really suits her market.
Listen, I am not new to this rodeo. I understand that the esthetics industry is and has been predominantly female. However, the predominance of a trait does not mean that the minority is not equally qualified and worthy of opportunity. Furthermore, people must know that there are legal rights that every human has when seeking employment. Spa owners and hiring managers must be held to this, despite any unfamiliarity, ignorance, or exchange of opinions on Facebook. Strategic growth in any business requires growth in mindset and business acumen – making your environment a space that growth and opportunity can happen and be sustained. When businesses grow faster than the owner’s mindset, it is doomed to come crashing down like a house of cards.