Racial bias based on hair discrimination is still rampant, especially in the corporate world, negatively impacting Black people, especially. This has promoted global cosmetics company Dove and Microsoft’s business and employment-focused social media platform, LinkedIn to join forces to campaign for the end of hair bias and hair discrimination through the passing of The CROWN Act.
The CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act of 2022) is a regulation that forbids racial discrimination based on protective hairstyles including braids, locs, twists, and bantu knots as well as natural textures and hairstyles.
Research co-commissioned by Dove and LinkedIn reveals that Black women’s hair is 2.5x more likely to be perceived as unprofessional. As well, the bias against natural hair and protective styles impedes the hiring of Black women into the corporate world.
As that, a lot of women (66% according to the research) change their hair for job interviews and 41% would straighten their hair from its natural state.
The Dove and LinkedIn alliance will launch a number of initiatives to assist in putting an end to race-based hair discrimination in the workplace.
They hope to educate, by the end of 2023, one million hiring managers and workplace professionals by making available free access to 10 LinkedIn learning courses. These courses are dedicated to fostering a more fair and inclusive work environment.
Also, they will shed light on the actual and quantifiable negative effects hair prejudice still has on black women in the workplace. In order to reframe what society considers to be “professional” at work, they will also highlight and promote the real experiences and voices of black women professionals on LinkedIn and other social media sites using the hashtag #BlackHairIsProfessional.
You can support this campaign here.
