• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About DNS
  • Subscribe to DNS
  • Advertise with DNS
  • Support DNS
  • Contact DNS

Disability News Service

the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues

  • Home
  • Independent Living
    • Arts, Culture and Sport
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Housing
    • Transport
  • Activism & Campaigning
  • Benefits & Poverty
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
You are here: Home / Activism and Campaigning / MoD targets ‘blatant’ discrimination in fashion industry
The four models posing with the petition outside parliament

MoD targets ‘blatant’ discrimination in fashion industry

By John Pring on 30th October 2015 Category: Activism and Campaigning

Listen

Four campaigning disabled models have set up a petition to demand that ministers address the “blatant disablism” within the fashion industry.

They want the government to punish the industry for its failure to meet its legal obligations under the Equality Act.

The four disabled women – Chelsey Jay, Elesha Turner, Katie Knowles and Gemma Flanagan (pictured, from left to right, outside parliament) – are members of Models of Diversity (MoD), a campaigning group which wants the fashion industry to use a more diverse range of models.

They have launched the petition on the UK parliament’s website, and hope to gain 100,000 signatures within the next six months, which should ensure the issue is debated in the House of Commons.

They want to see a change in attitudes within the fashion industry so that its use of disabled models reflects the proportion of disabled people in the population.

Jay, director of disability at MoD, said: “I want every sixth model in shows to have a disability. The same goes for advertising campaigns.

“We certainly want punishment for people who don’t do this. The fashion industry aren’t going to change [if there are no penalties] because there are no ramifications for not doing it.

“I think a whole demographic of society is being completely excluded. People are growing up with this idea that disabled people aren’t normal, they aren’t part of anything. That is so damaging.”

She added: “The modelling agencies say they can’t take on a disabled model because they won’t get the work, and the brands say there aren’t any disabled models on the books of the agencies.”

Jay said she is “literally laughed at in my face” by the industry, including designers, fashion brands, modelling agencies and advertisers, when she suggests they should use disabled models regularly.

She said: “We have got the legislation, the Equality Act, but for some reason it doesn’t apply to the fashion industry.

“The government needs to apply this legislation. They have to regulate it. No change will happen unless all of these people accept responsibility.”

When told about the campaign, Justin Tomlinson, the minister for disabled people, said: “Models of Diversity raise an important issue about equality in the fashion industry and I thank Disability News Service for bringing the campaign to my attention.

“I will look closely at this and see what action we may be able to take to address the challenges faced by people with disabilities working as, or aspiring to work as, models.”

Jay, who welcomed the minister’s response, said they wanted to do something very different to other campaigns, which have seen brands – particularly in the US – use a single disabled model in a “tokenistic” way.

She said: “That is just not what we are about.  We don’t want [people] to feel sorry for us. We are saying, ‘These people are disabled and they want a job, they are employable.’

“We don’t want special treatment, we want the same treatment. The tokenistic stuff – even though the designers might have their hearts in the right place – is so damaging to the bigger picture.”

Jay said attitudes within the fashion industry were “quite shocking”.

One industry person MoD met with explained that they couldn’t use disabled people all the time because “it’s like sometimes we can’t have people with brown hair, it’s not always in fashion”.

Other companies tell Jay: “We don’t see why there’s a problem, because three months ago we used a child with a disability.”

But Jay said there was hope that the campaign could be making some headway, with MoD in discussions with next year’s London Fashion Week to hold a show, backed by a designer brand, which would feature a diverse range of models, including some who are disabled.

Share this post:

Share on X (Twitter)Share on FacebookShare on WhatsAppShare on RedditShare on LinkedIn

Tags: Chelsey Jay Fashion industry Justin Tomlinson Models of Diversity

A photograph shows an audience raising their hands in a BSL sign. The words say: 'BSL Conference 2025. The future starts with us. Leeds 17-18 July. Be part of shaping the future of Deaf cultures and identities. Get 10% off with BDA10'

Related

Tory ministers blocked ‘unique’ research on ESA claimants from inclusion in benefit cuts green paper
16th January 2025
Rights ignored, no protection, no safety net, no real engagement, DPOs tell Covid inquiry
14th December 2023
MPs say government’s disability strategy is ‘a strategy in name only’
7th December 2023

Primary Sidebar

On the left of the image are multiple heads of different colours - white, aqua, red, light brown, and dark green - all grouped together, then the words ‘Campaign for Disability Justice. Sign up to support. #OpportunitySecurityRespect’
A photograph shows an audience raising their hands in a BSL sign. The words say: 'BSL Conference 2025. The future starts with us. Leeds 17-18 July. Be part of shaping the future of Deaf cultures and identities. Get 10% off with BDA10'

Access

Latest Stories

Disabled MP who quit government over benefit cuts tells DNS: ‘The consequences will be devastating’

Disabled peers plan to ‘amend, amend, amend, amend, amend’ after assisted dying bill reaches Lords

Minister finally admits that working-age benefits spending is stable, despite months of ‘spiralling’ claims

This bill opens the door to scandal, abuse and injustice, disabled activists say after assisted dying bill vote

Timms says cuts must go ahead, despite being reminded of risk that disabled claimants could die

Absence of disabled people’s voices from assisted dying bill has been ‘astonishing’, says disabled MP

Timms misleads MPs on DWP transparency and cover-ups, as he gives evidence on PIP review

Ministers are considering further extension to disability hate crime laws, after pledge on ‘aggravated’ offences

Making all self-driving pilot schemes accessible would be ‘counter-productive’ and slow us down, says minister

Involve disabled people ‘meaningfully’ from the start when developing digital assistive tech, says report

Advice and Information

Readspeaker
A photograph shows an audience raising their hands in a BSL sign. The words say: 'BSL Conference 2025. The future starts with us. Leeds 17-18 July. Be part of shaping the future of Deaf cultures and identities. Get 10% off with BDA10'

Footer

The International Standard Serial Number for Disability News Service is: ISSN 2398-8924

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site map
  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Threads
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 Disability News Service

Site development by A Bright Clear Web