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.

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.

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, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/346414?t=7&akid=52888%2E4731121%2EZKHTVU
2. Ibid.