‘Don’t take this for granted.’ Wake County bans hair discrimination.
Wake County has joined the growing list of counties and cities that have banned discrimination based on hair style.
Wake County Commissioner Shinica Thomas, the sole Black woman on the board, encouraged the county to update its nondiscrimination ordinance to give county employees greater protections. The resolution was approved Monday afternoon.
“The cost of chemically altering your hair is very high,” Thomas said. “And, Black women, when it comes to pay, already don’t make as much money as our counterparts.”
Durham, Carrboro and Greensboro have all added protections against hair discrimination and Raleigh is considering a similar ordinance for city employees.
A state version of the CROWN act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural-Hair, has also been filed.
After graduating college, Thomas was told in a job interview she wouldn’t be hired until she removed the braids from her hair.
“I did not take my braids out. And I did not take that job,” Thomas said in a previous interview. “But I also never wore my hair in braids or any manner other than straight, relaxed, Eurocentric-looking until about two years ago. So that’s been about 20 years.”
This is a small step but one that is necessary, said Wake County Commissioner James West.
“Don’t take this for granted,” he said. “I’m telling you Jim Crow has been around for a long time keeping people down.”
Duke University study
Black women with natural hairstyles — including afros, braids and twists — are often perceived as less professional than Black women with straightened hair, according to research by a Duke University professor.
Ashley Rosette conducted her research at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. The study, which was co-authored by Rosette and Christy Koval, was published in 2020 in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
That research asked people to rate Black and white female job candidates on their professionalism and competence. Black women with natural hair-styles were given lower marks and not recommended for interviews compared to white women, regardless of hairstyle, and Black women with straightened hair, according to an article on the Duke Fuqua School of Business website.
“Although there have been some policy changes protecting Black people from discrimination based on their natural hair, these changes are fairly recent and not as widely implemented as they should be,” Rosette said in the article. “This work illustrates that racial discrimination based on hair can occur, and we hope it can inform new policies and practices for firms to ensure they’re considering candidates equally, and furthermore, aren’t missing out on top talent.”
Wake resolution protects others too
The resolution approved in Wake County also protects the hairstyles of those of Jewish, Latinx or Native American descent.
“Wake County is taking a stand on this issue, and we hope other municipal organizations and private businesses will follow our lead,” said Wake County Manager David Ellis in a news release. “Celebrating the diversity of our team is important, and including natural hairstyles in our discrimination policy shows our employees that, no matter how they choose to wear their hair, we value the contribution they make to our organization.”
