Does Natural Hair Have A Place In Corporate America?

April 27th, 2012 - By Ashley Arnold

blackenterprise.com

As natural hair becomes more of a trend across the board for African American women, it was only a matter of time before the question of its acceptance in the workplace would arise. Whether you’re a sales executive or a television host, appearance matters. And in a society where image is everything, is the natural look holding people back or is it off the table as an issue? We spoke to six women about their personal hair experiences in the workplace.

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  • Just saying!

    I don’t understand why this is the question. We shouldn’t be changing our physical appearance to conform to society’s standards of what is and isn’t professional. Our natural hair is what NATURALLY grows out of our head so if it offends someone that is their problem. You can have millions of black women in corporate America but if they all have to be white to be there what exactly are we accomplishing? I just can’t believe we are asking this question. Why don’t you just rephrase it to, “Is it okay to be ourselves? Is it okay to be how God made us in the workplace? Is it really okay to stay how we were born?”. When will people understand that it’s women that wear RELAXERS that have a trend. We natural women do not have a trend you know why? Because we didn’t ALTER our hair–we LEFT IT ALONE!! I’m so sick of people making natural hair out to be something so unnatural. Okay sorry I’m done this made me a little upset lol. 

  • Oceane

    I am responsible for a fairly large organisation, what matters to me is someone coming to work dressed professionally natural hair or not I expect to see immaculately dressed individuals with excellent work ethics and professionalism. If I have to have a discussion with someone about hair it would be about style and state not because they have natural hair incidentally  this  has only happened once it was the style not the texture that was the issue.

  • MixedUpInVegas

    As long as your hair is neat, clean and nicely styled, it won’t be a problem.  Looking like you just rolled out of bed and don’t own a comb or brush is not a good look for any woman of any race.

  • http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Peaches%20The%20Writer PeachesTheWriter

    How is being natural a trend? Wear your hair and bring your A-game. They have no choice but to respect you, if you are confident and competent. Do not apologize for being you. Check out my new book Layover by Peaches the Writer on Amazon Kindle.

  • whatever

    This shouldn’t be a discussion at all. What does your hair have to do with your job? Black people wearing their own hair is the same as non black people wearing their own hair. Now, coloring it in bright colors like red, blue should be a discussion. 

  • mochaaa

    omg shannon!! i looooove her(and andrea lewis’) blog/vlog. i dont understand why we’d have to conform to what white people think is appropriate. we were born with curly hair. if there were no chemical relaxers and flat irons what would we do? how can you say something that someone’s born is is inappropriate.

  • FromUR2UB

    It’s not the texture of the hair that should be in question, but whether it’s neatly groomed, and styled appropriately for the occasion.

    And, please.  Just because white people are good at smiling in your face while asking to see what your hair feels like or how you care for it, doesn’t mean they’re loving you more than black people do.  (hard sigh).  

  • Brnsug

    Yes.. its natural to wear your natural hair styles to work…why not everyone else wear theirs…Who comes to work not groomed….thats dum…lol….I am natural and I wear my natural looks and other nice hair styles to work…I dont get why people are still putting so much into how black women wear their hair ….its old and stale…

    • FromUR2UB

      You’d be surprised.  There was a woman on my job whose hair looked a mess EVERYday.  You know how a man’s hair looks if he’s long overdue for a haircut, doesn’t know how to comb his hair, so he just brushes it back?  That’s how her hair looked all the time.  Believe me, she wasn’t going for a natural look; she just did nuttin’, nada with her hair.  I thought: why doesn’t she at least go to a barber shop or salon, and let someone cut it to look neat?  It was just hair on her head, dry and brittle looking.  She was a big, out of shape, sloppy looking woman too.  Wore stretch pants and T-shirt like tops, with white socks and black lace up shoes.  I guess she didn’t violate the dress code in the style of clothes she wore, so she never got called out for being a slob.

      She loooooved her some white people, too.  That’s all she hung around.  Oddly, she liked to hang around slender white women, who looked neat in their appearance.  Strange.  She reminded me of a big ol’ mammy!  I haven’t seen her in a while so maybe she retired.

  • Rabiyya Smith

    I am so sick of these age old debates! It is 2012; at what point in time will African Americans be able to feel comfortable in their own skin? As a sista who has had processed hair from the tender age of 3 (my crazy grandmother gave a jerri curl because I supposedly begged for it), and have been natural now for 8 years; I hate to think back at how brainwashed I was! It disturbing to know how desparate we are to fit in; how desperate we are to look like that other than which we are; and how we are willing to self mutilate in the process!

  • LaLaLaMeansILoveYou

    NO. Natural hair does NOT have a place in corporate America.

    See? A stupid question gets a stupid answer.

  • emily

    To me it’s like asking, do African Americans have a place in corporate America?  I mean as long as their hair is properly maintained, what gives? 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DJRH5W33HTWQL7EWXK5USSH5JM KD

    How could it not be acceptable to wear our hair how it grows out of our head?? Is our skin, color, and facial features unaccepatble too? Our hair is coiled and kinky, we shouldn’t have to alter it if straight haired folks don’t have to alter theirs. Now of course their is an expectation that all HAIR should be kept neat in a professional environment, but I would think that applies to all hair types. Relaxed hair can easily look UNKEPT, I see it all the time.

  • http://twitter.com/InspiredLocs Inspired Locs

    Sometimes it’s a matter of how we feel about ourselves that effects how others view us.  Being confident with yourself, your hair, is key.

  • KamJos

    If you don’t believe that natural hair is acceptable in corporate America by now then you don’t want to believe. Because there are soooo many natural sisters in corporate America already doing their thing. 

  • Lorenzo

    Everyone else is wearing thier hair natural, why shouldn’t black people. What belongs in the work place corporate or otherwise is competency.

  • Ananda

    I’ve been natural for about 4 years now.  I started with locs, wore those for a few years then decided in March of ’12 to shave my head.  Almost two months in and for the most part I love it.  Every once in a while I’m like “I can’t believe I shaved my head” but learning my hair and how take care of it in its loose natural state.  I’ve gotten mostly positive reactions to my new look but there are still the occasional stares and negative comments.  People seem to be really intimidated by short hair especially if its natural.  And I, too, like one of the subjects, notice that a lot my  negative reactions have come from other black people. 

  • LAME

    Also natural hair isn’t a trend. Again, since when is something someone is born with considered a trend? Having a relaxer is a trend because you are altering yourself. Wearing your hair the way it grows from your scalp is called…..normal.

    • Maybe…

      I think the reason it’s being called a “trend” is because relaxers have been so prevalent for so many years. The same way white people getting a tan is “normal” if having pale skin became in that would be the “trend” although that’s how they’re born…

    • Maybe…

      I think the reason it’s being called a “trend” is because relaxers have been so prevalent for so many years. The same way white people getting a tan is “normal” if having pale skin became in that would be the “trend” although that’s how they’re born…

  • LAME

    This is a silly question. Would anyone walk up to a white or asian woman and ask if her straight hair is appropriate? Our hair isn’t naturally straight so how could our natural appearance be inappropriate. Is our brown skin inappropriate for corporate America? lol thats laughable. Now certain natural hairstyles would be inappropriate but natural hair in general would and could never be inappropriate. The styling of hair could be inappropriate. No matter what race you wouldn’t walk into a corporate office with fire engine red hair lol. Why the questions about black women and their hair anyway? Its annoying.

  • anon

    The problem is black people. When  non blacks see your confidence, and it’s neat, they won’t have any problem with it, they will adjust their mind to it. And if they do, that’s their problem. My sister works in corporate America and she’s worn her hair in twists, nice afro, and nobody said anything except other black people who saw her hair like that.

  • sweettea

    It seems like the common theme is that its not white people who have a problem with natural hair its other black people. I’ve had dreads for almost 10 years and I’ve been steadily employed the entire time. I’ve had white people be curious and ask questions or ask to touch them but all the negative comments have always come from other black people mainly women.

    • Just saying!

      Same here! White people usually give me ignorant comments or just ask questions out of curiosity. Most of my negative comments come from black people. Although, I wouldn’t put it past white people either because I actually think a few of them may have negative ideas but  would probably be a lot less likely to say something since they aren’t black lol. 

    • Ashley A.

      That was definitely the trend that I saw across the board.

    • Ashley A.

      That was definitely the trend that I saw across the board.

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