Issue Proposal: Natural Hair In Corporate America

Sarah Ricard
Engl 1302-702
Professor Brittain
10/26/2016
Issue Proposal: Natural Hair in Corporate America

It never crossed my mind that your natural hair would ever be issue especially in the workplace. Many African American women have become frustrated by the lack of support from corporate America for working women and their hairstyles. Some African American women have made claims that their natural hair has often prevented them from being employed in corporate America. Many African American women now feel that they are being discriminated against because of their natural hair. Some suggest while they do acknowledge company’s policies to apply strict dress codes; however, prohibiting natural hairstyles like afros, and banning dreadlocks

Many African American women have now decided to stop chemically treating and processing their hair, and wear their natural hair that they were born with. African American hair is very different from other hair textures, as it comes in all different forms, textures and shapes. Our hair also grows differently from other races as well. There has been a natural hair movement that has taken place over the last five years where African American women have decided to embrace their natural hair, and no longer be ashamed of their hair texture by chemically relaxing it, straightening it, or wearing hair extensions. By wearing one’s natural hair has sparked a sense of self-confidence and pride in

Many employers feel that natural hair is unprofessional, a distraction, and unkept. Society has the perception that straight hair for women is more professional, its more expectable and appealing. However, this bias culture about one’s hair that society has created has caused a lot of chaos especially within the workplace and schools. A lot of African American women who wear their natural hair often opt to straighten their hair, wear wigs or extensions to appeal to corporate America. Some women have made claims that they have been written up because of their natural hair, and were required to change their hairstyle if they wanted to maintain employment with the company. An African American woman named Chasity Jones filed a lawsuit against Catastrophe Management Solutions claiming discrimination based on her hair. Jones claimed that she was offered the position and afterwards the human resource manager told her that dreadlocks were against the company policy, and if she wanted to keep her job she would have to change her hairstyle, Jones refused and her employment was terminated. Just recently, the federal appeals court has ruled that employers can now ban dreadlocks at the workplace.
“U.S. Circuit Judge Adalberto Jordan wrote for the most recent ruling. “So, for example, discrimination on the basis of black hair texture (an immutable characteristic) is prohibited