You might remember me retelling my initial experience with my newly found, naturally bald head but I’m not sure if mentioned that the person that triggered the daring cut was one of my white colleagues. You see, for some reason, they appreciated what I did not and saw the potential for an amazing new ‘do’. But had it had not been for the encouragement in the work place (where my brown skin is a minority) i.e. my office manager telling me that i look like a ‘wonderfully, androgynous, little thing’ and praising every bit of growth and new styling technique; would I have still felt comfortable rocking my kinky head of hair in a corporate environment?
You see I work in PR, an area associated with the media and considered fashionable and accepting of new and innovative, daring styles, but i’m not a consumer ‘PR-ist’, it’s not glitz and glamour, it’s technology, its B2B and it's corporate, so when I am meeting clients I do tend to whip out my lip ring but tame my hair? Never! Why? Because my working environment has taught me that it is acceptable because it is ME. I do wonder however, if I were to leave my fabulous work place to venture elsewhere and begin that dreaded interview process all over again, would my hair affect my ability to get a job?
This week’s blog is triggered by an article in Glamour Magazine, citing the same issues about African hair and the workplace. I’ve copied and pasted it below for those of you too lazy to click on the link but have a read.
“Almost every black woman has had a ‘hair moment,’” said Farai Chideya, who went on to share hers with a roomful of women at Glamour’s Women, Race and Beauty panel last November. It was when a higher-up once commented that her braids made her look unprofessional. Judging from the heads nodding, most of the women in the diverse audience had heard something similar—or worse—about their looks. And it hurt.
The roundtable, which featured brilliant women of every ethnicity, was a high point in Glamour’s year, but it was triggered by a low point. Last summer, a former staffer made an unauthorized presentation to a group of female attorneys in which she commented that, in her view, Afros were “a Don’t” for work. Glamour management found out about her remark two months later and was floored. (Click here for our response.) We shared the outrage of hundreds of you who wrote in to voice disagreement. The idea that a woman cannot be herself and still get ahead at work runs contrary to Glamour’s message of empowerment.
Your letters made one thing clear: Many women of colour still feel judged according to racially biased beauty norms in their careers and sometimes even in personal relationships. It’s not just about hair and it’s not just about African American women, as you’ll see from the variety of testimonials on these pages. At a time when women of all shapes, sizes, colours and manner of hairstyles are increasingly seen in magazines and on TV and movie screens—and when Toni Morrison, the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature, proudly wears her dreads—multicultural beauty acceptance hasn’t pervaded our lives as much as we’d like to think. Those same dreads could cost you a promotion in some offices, noted some letter writers; one reader said reactions to her natural hair at work “made it seem like I’d entered a meeting in jeans and a T-shirt.” But going with straightened hair isn’t simple either, said panellist Lisa Price, founder of Carol’s Daughter beauty products: An African American woman who wants to experiment with extensions may be seen as a sell-out. Fear of saying the wrong thing stops most people from making the next crucial step—talking openly about these beauty standards. So Glamour brought together a group of journalists, academics and businesswomen to take that step. Listen in on their discuss
What are your thoughts and experiences in this area? Do you feel or know that you were turned down for a job because of the way looked? I had a friend who though she was never invited to interviews because her surname sounded too African...hmm interesting concept.
Peace, Love and Nappyness to you all xx
