We’ve been thinking a lot about The CROWN Act lately. If you’re not familiar, it’s a new act that bans employers from discriminating against us based on how we choose to wear our hair….including the way it naturally grows out of our head. Cali and NYC are leading the charge and have actually done the work to pass the laws. The rest of the country is still a work in progress to stop natural hair discrimination at work…
Ok, so now that we’re all up to speed, here’s what’s been on my mind. Laws like the CROWN Act are important. Very important. But it also opens up a lot of questions about how comfortable we feel with our hair at work—and how comfortable (or uncomfortable) we’re made to feel, law or no law. I worked in corporate America for nearly 10 years in an environment that was, by most standards, open, creative, laid back, and not as stuffy or conservative as other workplaces. That said, my hair was relaxed the whole time. I’d dread the comments when I put in or took out extensions and my hair was a whole foot longer or shorter. But I have friends who have had very different experiences with their natural hair, not surprisingly. One woman I spoke to this summer said she was routinely passed over to lead important meetings at work until she started wearing weaves. She didn’t change. Her work didn’t change. Her hair did.
And that’s where things can get tricky. Yes, we’ve read about the blatant discrimination that happens (like overt “grooming policies”). But we all know how subtly it can happen, too. You can’t always put your finger on it but you know your work isn’t the reason you’re not put up for promotions, bigger projects, more visibility. Even if no one ever comments on your hair, it can still subconsciously play a part in how you’re perceived and what opportunities come your way and, more importantly, which ones don’t.
We asked you how you deal with your hair at work and this is what you told us:
But beyond the stats, it was your personal stories that really drove the point home that change is so desperately needed:
“I would always get compliments on how beautiful I looked with straight hair and the closest thing I ever received as a compliment on my natural hair was that it looked wild and [that it] was very easy to find me from the back of my head.” —20-something in New York with naturally curly hair
“A recruiter reached out to me about an interview at a well-known real estate firm. We met informally and at the time I had a natural short cut. She told me that I should wear a wig to the interview because they might say something about my hair.” —30-something in New York with naturally coily hair
“The most uncomfortable experience I had was watching our white female lead ask to touch (pet) another black woman’s braids. There was another incident when a white gay male asked if I wore weaves and if my hair was relaxed. I told him I wasn’t wearing a weave and my hair was indeed relaxed. He replied, ‘that’s horrible,’ and asked me if I know how I make little black girls feel when they see my hair relaxed. I was really confused because I didn’t know he was ever a little black girl and trying to figure out what documentary or book told him these things.” —20-something in Georgia with relaxed hair
“I wore my hair curly to work one day and a manager said, ‘Oh, it’s so cute that way but only in the office, not for a client meeting.'” —30-something in New York with naturally curly hair
“I had coworkers call me cotton candy because of my hairstyles and be totally shocked when I straighten my hair and would make comments like, ‘Now I see your true beauty.’” —20-something in Philadelphia with naturally coily hair
“I’ve had two people (1 manager, 1 peer) touch my hair unsolicited and without asking permission. Coworkers also ask a lot of questions when I have a new style which isn’t inherently bad, it just magnifies that I’m “other” and can cause me to shrink back a bit to try not to call attention to myself or my hair.” —30-something in New York with naturally coily hair
“When [I] changed from relaxer to natural (with big chop), [I was] looked at and whispered about. And ultimately [ended up] being substituted out of meetings with clients for a blonde female counterpart, who is told to get with me to prepare the presentation she then presents on behalf of the company. It is now an everyday occurrence.” —50-something in Florida with naturally coily hair