LOS ANGELES: A recent survey showed that one in four Black women in the United States believe they have been denied a job interview because of their hair.
According to the 2023 CROWN Workplace Research Study, co-commissioned by LinkedIn and Dove, Black women’s hair is 2.5 times more likely to be perceived as unprofessional and over 20 per cent of Black women, ages 25 to 34, have been sent home from work because of their hair.
Approximately 66 per cent of Black women surveyed said they changed their hair for a job interview. Among them, 41 per cent changed their hair from curly to straight, said Xinhua.
The survey also found that Black women are 54 per cent more likely to feel like they have to wear their hair straight to a job interview to be successful and nearly half of Black women under age 34 said they feel pressured to have a headshot with straight hair.
The researchers of the study pointed out that racial discrimination based on hairstyles can start as early as five years old and last a lifetime.
While progress has been made, race-based hair discrimination remains a systemic problem in the workplace – from hiring practices to daily workplace interactions – disproportionately impacting Black women’s employment opportunities and professional advancement, researchers noted.
A total of 1,039 Black women ages 25 to 64 took part in the survey between December 2022 and January 2023. All respondents were employed part or full time at the time of the study. – BERNAMA-XINHUA
