Working in a professional, setting with natural hair can serve as quite the challenge for women who choose to wear creative and vibrantly colored hair styles. Within the past couple of years, as the natural hair community continues to grow and thrive, men and women have complained about hair biasin the working world. From natural hair bias to bias based on hair color, people are finding it hard to freely rock their hair styles of choice without receiving judgement. The rules on what is appropriate in the work place/ what is considered professional is constantly changing. Appropriate hair styles for the workplace is a constant argument amongst the natural hair community and the professionals setting these standards. For Dawnielle Causbey, a working woman in higher education, she has chosen to fight hair bias in the workplace by expressing herself through her wigs. Dawn started wearing wigs in 2014 as a protective style for her 4A/4B textured natural hair.
“I have so many wigs and each of them symbolize something different”, says Dawn. Dawn explained that her wigs allow her to expresswho she wants the world to see day by day. “I wear my more vibrant colored wigs when I am switching things up and trying to have a little fun, but my more natural wigs (brown, burgundy, etc.) are worn when I am expression my subtler side” says Dawn. Currently wearing silver faux goddess locks, Dawn doesn’t believe that hair color can define a person’s professionalism or knowledge base.
Retired personal counselor, Yolanda Wilson, believes the choice to wear hair in different styles and colors is a type of self-expression that everyone should do freely. “Jumping to the conclusion that because someone is wearing vibrantly colored hair means that they are unprofessional is an outdated mindset,” says Yolanda. Yolanda explained, in 2018 with the working world evolving so much for the new wave of younger employees coming in, it’s time for certain rules to change.
“This younger generation of professionals are a lot surer of their talents and who they want to be perceived as in this world. They are comfortable with being themselves and not changing themselves for anyone. This group of young professionals are challenging the outdated views of older professionals and forcing them to change their thinking, “says Yolanda. Now more than ever, it is important for men and women to challenge the professional rules that call for employees changing their outside to reflect better on who they are on the inside. The natural hair communitywill continue to stand be the idea that professionalism should not be judged by the color, texture, or style of someone’s hair.
