Sound Off; Natural Hair In The Workplace - Is Corporate America Ready To Accept All Forms Of Diversity?

Latrice with her curly wig << >> Latrice with her natural hair

Corporate America has already embraced our African American sisters with pressed hair, weaves and relaxers; but what about the women that don natural hair styles? It is often said that they are overlooked for promotions, skipped over during interviews and even worse; told to change their hair into more "professional" styles.

@TriceDiva sent me a tweet and said:

I wore a wig inspired by u to work [outre quick weave evony] & was told it wasn't professional...can you give your thoughts about natural hair in the workplace? I work in sales at an hotel that deems itself as conservative..they said it was too long and against the rules.

Here are my thoughts on natural hair in the workplace: 

How can the texture of your hair determine your level of professionalism? Highly textured hair is a genetic trait, and should not be treated as a fashion or political statement. In my opinion this is similar to implying that natural red hair is unprofessional or frowning upon those with natural blue eyes in the workplace [as these are all genetic traits as well]. How can we pick and choose what traits are deemed professional? And more importantly, why are we always on the receiving end of said bias?

Having worn my natural hair in certain corporate settings, I have had to answer in-depth questions about my political and cultural beliefs or be subjected to off-kilter commentary about my kinks and coils. To be quite frank, it is annoying. No one seems to express interest in my choice of music or political affiliation when my hair is bone straight or perfectly coiffed into silky, flowing locks.

Believe me, I get the ideology around it. A neat, tidy appearance breeds credibility and goes hand-in-hand with professionalism. But there is a fine line between protecting the identity of a brand and discriminating against those who don't meet society's expectations of beauty. Is Corporate America so out of touch that they can't respect the diversity of African American women? Why are styles like braids, locs and afro's looked at as unprofessional? Furthermore, what other ethnic group has to go to great lengths to "hide" and "tame" certain aspects of their genetic makeup to appear more "professional" and "neat"? 

While there have been great strides taken to diversify the workplace, there is still a primitive form of thinking that silently [and in this case not-so-silently] governs with a rod of iron. Those thoughts stem from 100 year-old beliefs that our hair in it's natural state appears dirty, un-kept and undesirable. - Let me make this clear that this isn't a black vs white issue, but a societal issue that is pressing a certain "standard of professionalism" by implying that the culturally significant hairstyles of one ethnic group [usually the minority] is unprofessional. As a result this ethnic group has to conform by choosing styles that are labeled "professional" by the self-serving ruling majority. These professional styles usually require heat or chemicals to straighten our hair therefore mirroring those same tired images perpetuated by Western culture. 

The bottom line:
Natural hair definitely has it's place in the workplace.

How do you feel about natural hair in the workplace? Do you think it is professional? I am interested in hearing other opinions on this [even if you disagree!] Has anyone out there experienced discrimination or snark comments about your hair? How long did it take before you were comfortable wearing your hair in natural styles?

For those that are pro wearing natural hair styles in the workplace I am sponsoring a giveaway just for you. Send in your best pic [nikole@themoptopmaven.com] of you rocking a natural style in the workplace, and you will be eligible to receive a $50 gift certificate to Curl Mart. Curly wigs, curly weaves, locs, braids, twa's, braid outs, twist outs, two strand twists and the likes are all accepted. The pics will be posted in an album on The Moptop Maven Facebook page, and select photos will be showcased on this site. The goal is to give others the courage to wear natural styles in the workplace whilst promoting respect for cultural diversity. - This contest will run until November 15th, 2010 11:59 PST.

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