HEALTH & BEAUTY
HAIR DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE - A 2023 UPDATE F or decades, Black women in the United States have felt pressure to conform to conventional white standards of professional appearance in the workplace by relaxing and straightening their natural hair. In recent years, support for natural hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locs, twists, or Bantu knots has grown with the introduction of the CROWN Act at local, state, and federal levels. C.R.O.W.N is an acronym for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. The Official Campaign of The CROWN Act, led by the CROWN Coalition, founded by Dove, the National Urban League, Color of Change, and the Western Center on Law & Poverty, conducted hair discrimination research studies in 2019, 2021, and 2023. According to their 2023 CROWN Workplace Research Study, “race-based hair discrimination remains a systemic problem in the workplace – from hiring practices to daily workplace interactions – disproportionately impacting Black women’s employment opportunities and professional advancement.” Race-based hair discrimination, or denying employment or educational opportunities based on hair texture or hairstyle, is real. The Study revealed that: Black women’s hair is 2.5 times more likely to be perceived as unprofessional. Approximately 66% of Black women change their hair for a job interview. Black women with coily/textured hair are twice as likely than those with straighter hair to experience microaggressions in the workplace. More than 1 in 5 Black women aged 25-34 have been sent home from work because of their hair. 44% of Black women under 34 feel pressured to straighten their hair for professional portraits. 1 in 4 Black women (1 in 3 of those under 34) believe they have been denied a job interview because of their hair. California was the first state to introduce CROWN Act legislation in January 2019. Governor Gavin Newsom signed California’s CROWN Act into law on July 3, 2019. Louisville’s Metro Council passed the CROWN Act city ordinance signed by Mayor Greg Fischer on July 15, 2021. Although CROWN laws have passed in 22 states as of June 2023 (most recently in Texas and Michigan), US Senate Republicans blocked federal CROWN Act passage on December 14, 2022. Kentucky’s GOP supermajority sent CROWN Act SB63 back to committee on March 10, 2023.
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