Heavy Is The Head: 25% of Black Women Say They Were Denied Jobs Because Of Their Hair

Dove and LinkedIn have continued their commitment to demystifying the very real struggles Black women face regarding their hair in the workplace.

In a recent survey conducted by the companies, a majority of Black women say they feel they have to change their hair to be taken seriously for job opportunities and to be viewed as professionals. A whopping 66% of them said they had intentionally changed their hair before job interviews not to be passed over due to discriminatory practices. Twenty-five percent of the Black women surveyed said they believed they were denied a job interview because of their hair.

When looking at the data, said Andrew McCaskill, a senior director of global communications and career expert for LinkedIn, workplaces need “to work better” for women in general, but especially Black women. As more Black women have begun opting to wear their natural hair over the past few years instead of straightening their hair with chemical relaxers, which reportedly can increase the risk of developing uterine cancer, these types of studies are of far greater importance.

After landing their jobs, Black women with textured hair are twice as likely to experience microaggressions in the workplace than those with straight hair. And 25% of Black women ages 25 to 34 surveyed said they were sent home from work because of their hair. Through Dove’s #BlackHairIsProfessional campaign, Black women and young professionals have found a safe place to share their hair journey and stories. In one shared post, LinkedIn user Kristi Kennebrew revealed a message sent to her inbox criticizing her natural hair and encouraging her to “tone it down and make it flat” before calling her hair “scary.”

Experiencing hair discrimination early on in a Black professional’s career can cause a “disconnect of belonging” and a loss of confidence in their skills, McCaskill said. One example he cited is a young Black worker not getting the anticipated reaction for their work because the manager “is focused on something like their hair,” he said.

“What we know is that, as you get more mature in your career, you’re typically also more confident in your skills that you have and what you bring to the table,” McCaskill said. “For younger folks, these types of aggressions and microaggressions can cause real angst for them in terms of even to the point of doubting their skills and saying, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’”

The House passed the Crown Act last March to ban hair-based discrimination, but there is still so much work to be done on more intimate levels that affect the quality of life that Black women can have in spaces they’re forced to show up in.