In early February, the Perception Institute released the results of their 2016 study confirming that black women with natural hair experience bias in the workplace. The ‘Good Hair’ study, inspired by Shea Moisture, affirmed what many black women already knew: Natural hair can be a career liability. We spoke with several black women, who were eager to share the natural hair struggles they’ve faced in pursuit of a paycheck.
Ariel shared another unpleasant office encounter, “In that same office, on another day, I had a coworker tell me that my crazy hair looked like Krusty the Klown from the Simpsons — in front of a meeting room full of people.” She also had another black woman at her office comment on her afro puff. But she does say while these encounters were uncomfortable, she doesn’t believe she’s been passed over for a promotion because of her hair.
The woman, as it turns out, was secretary for one of the partners. Ultimately, Michele decided not to book a hair appointment, “I had heard that a sister lawyer at Turner Broadcasting was rocking locs. This was in 1987 when few professional black women dared to walk into the workplace with locs, braids, or naturals. The image of a sister sporting locs in Turner Broadcasting’s law department gave me the courage to not capitulate to looking white by the head.” Michele says after her refusal, her responsibilities at her work were curtailed drastically until she quit.
Michaela Angela Davis, a long-time image activist who is partnering with AfroPunk on “The Hair Tales,” says seeing other women with natural hair can give Black women a boost of confidence like the one Michele experienced, “Because they have a community, now they walk [into the office] with way more confidence, and because we have free media now, meaning Snapchat and Instagram… women are able to put out the images that were missing because that’s part of what it was too… This absence that keeps us locked in otherness.” Michaela says that most advertisers only focus on “silky, curly mixed girl hair,” but is thankful for natural hair icons like actor Lupita Nyong’o that show a broader range of what natural hair is and looks like.
Miko encourages black women with natural hair who find themselves having to compromise on the clock to view the way they must wear their hair as a part of their uniform, “If going to another job is not an option, I think we have to change our thinking about it.” She does warn, “I don’t recommend that anyone [use] a chemical that’s going to permanently alter their hair in order to conform to a temporary situation.” She also pointed out that work-from-home positions and entrepreneurship are allowing many women the freedom and flexibility to wear their hair as they please. There are also many younger millennials and older members of generation Z who report that they’ve never been made to feel uncomfortable about their natural hair in the workplace.