A lot of my work is (1) helping people make decisions they know they’ll be happy with and (2) helping people do what’s right for them in their careers. This can sound overly simplistic because there’s often much more at play than just what they get to decide.
The question we also need to ask is, who doesn’t get to be themselves at work? Who doesn’t get to make decisions that honor their values and preferences? Who has to abide by what society deems “professional” which is usually the values of white and Western employees?
Take natural Black hairstyles for example. UPS only lifted their discriminatory ban on natural Black hairstyles in 2020 and children are routinely suspended from school for wearing natural hairstyles.
The artwork from @itshunnib perfectly captures an example of the bias of professionalism:
“All beautiful, all you, all professional.
Studies show that black women with natural styles such as fros, locs, braids etc are perceived as less professional than their straight haired counterparts.
Still ridiculous and I hope the crown act passes everywhere. One shouldn’t feel the need to straighten their hair for an interview or for every single important event. Straight hair is fun and awesome but the keyword here is “need” versus a non biased preference.”
California was the first state to ban racial discrimination against natural hairstyles in the workplace. The CROWN Act “was created in 2019 by Dove and the CROWN Coalition, in partnership with then State Senator Holly J. Mitchell of California, to ensure protection against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles by extending statutory protection to hair texture and protective styles such as braids, locs, twists, and knots in the workplace and public schools.”
State Senator Holly Mitchell, said:
“This is a fundamental issue of personal dignity and personal rights [...] This bill has truly struck a deeply personal chord with people because there is something so deeply personally offensive when you are told that your hair, in its natural state, is not acceptable in the workplace.”
And from the CROWN Act’s website:
Black women are 1.5 times more likely to be sent home from the workplace because of their hair.
Black women are 80% more likely than white women to agree with this statement: “I have to change my hair from its natural state to fit in at the office.”
It’s also part of the microaggressions that Black women face as we look at returning to working in person:
“After seven years of corporate life, Mary Smith had a routine: putting extra effort into her hair (so as to not appear too Black) and her demeanor (ditto) and her clothes (you can probably guess).
But once she got a taste of the work-from-home life during the pandemic, Smith knew she could never go back. Her scalp was free from constraining hairstyles, and she could disappear from the screen if a colleague said something insulting.
A few months ago, her employer asked her to begin the transition back to in-person work. So she quit.”
So it’s not as easy as “just be yourself at work”. There’s a lot of work to be done for everyone to be accepted in the workplace.