[ [link removed] ]The text reads "Dear Corporate America, I will wear my crown my way."
There is an image of four Black women with different Afro-textured
hairstyles. The Color Of Change logo is in the corner.

John,

Black hair is professional. Period. In June 2021, we asked major
corporations like McDonald's and Walmart to update their employee
appearance policies to remove any racially coded language and include
explicit protection for afro-textured hair and associated protective
hairstyles. Now it’s Black History Month, and these same corporations are
tweeting blanketed statements without doing enough to create safe and
welcoming workplace environments for their Black employees. Natural hair
discrimination and non-inclusive grooming policies force Black women to
conform to white supremacist notions of professionalism and perpetuate
anti-Black racism in the workplace. The 2019 Dove CROWN Research Study
revealed that a Black woman is 80 percent more likely to alter her hair
from a natural state to fit into workplace culture and meet social norms
or expectations at work.^1 That’s why we are calling industry leaders out
today. These corporations cannot claim to honor Black History Month while
refusing to implement hair policies that protect Black employees from hair
discrimination.

[ [link removed] ]ADD your name here: Demand that corporations like McDonald's and
Walmart eradicate natural hair discrimination in the workplace!

Black women are 1.5 times more likely to have been sent home, or know of a
Black woman sent home, from the workplace because of her hair.^2 When a
company like McDonald's has numerous independently operated franchises,
there is an opening for supervisors to discriminately enforce appearance
policies. This leaves Black employees vulnerable to disciplinary
infractions in the event of leadership changes—which is why these
corporations must create policies that offer explicit protection for
afro-textured hair and associated protective hairstyles!

Color Of Change is a proud member of the CROWN Coalition, pushing for
legislation that prohibits race-based hair discrimination in workplaces
and K-12 public and charter schools. This summer will mark three years
since California passed the CROWN Act, and since then, we’ve fought and
won in 14 more states. But there are still 36 states where Black people
can be disciplined or fired for wearing their natural hair. We believe
that corporations should step up and take tangible steps to end race-based
hair discrimination NOW! Demand that McDonald's and Walmart match their
actions with their Black History Month statements and eradicate natural
hair discrimination in the workplace.

[ [link removed] ]TAKE ACTION NOW!

Until justice is real,

Jade and the Color Of Change Team

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 References:

 1. “New Dove Study Confirms Workplace Bias Against Hairstyles Impacts
Black Women’s Ability to Celebrate Their Natural Beauty,” PR Newswire,
May 1, 2019,
[link removed]
 2. Ibid.



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