Women of Color (WOC) & Workplace Image

Being a Woman of Color in Corporate America, it almost seems like the definition of having a “professional image” has a few extra bullet points specifically & distinctly written with us in mind. In most of the positions I’ve held, I’ve been one of only a hand full of black women & at a time where natural hair or regularly changed hair styles were not as embraced then as they are now. So, I understand the anxieties & pressures brought on when it comes to determining my “office appropriate image”. I feel like though natural hair is more prominent in any field today, there is still a sense of perpetual fear & shame when it comes to this in women of color in the workplace. I’m especially hesitant at times to make a change since the lack of representation & diversity in my industry already exists, so theres even more of a pressure for me to look a certain way with the chance I could be overlooked because of it.

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I love my black community. I love how versatile as a people we are & how ingenious we can be when it comes to approaches on style, hair especially. However, I can’t lie & say my approach to interviews & the first 90 days or so didn’t revolve around maintaining an overall image that suppressed as much ethnicity as possible. I picked to wear my hair straight or in a bun at all times rather than in a protective style that would most likely draw attention I didn’t want. When I’d finally want to explore a new hairstyle especially for protection, I’d fill with anxiety thinking about the opinions of people at work. It also didn’t help having a little influence from my mother about how my hair would be perceived despite my actual work efforts & performance.

Even though I wanted to venture out into some of the more elaborate/creative hairstyles, mostly with a little, I felt like I needed to keep things more neutral & less noticeable; Less Ethnic. If I wanted to be chosen for a project or promoted, I couldn’t give them the impression of the repressed image most of my peers already had. In some settings I had every right to feel the way I did. I would be approached on day 1 of trying out my new hairstyle at work, be all but groped & get asked anything from “how I achieved my style” to “how long it took to finish”. I recall a previous manager (white) approaching me in the middle of a sea of cubicles & asking about the time it took for me to have my hair done, telling me her opinion of how she couldn’t sit that long or would not be able to stand it for that matter – Microaggression. I’ve had others ask what & I’d done to make it longer.

Its astounding to think that debates on the black community’s hair & whether styles are professional or presentable have turned into court rulings, banning certain physical characteristics from the workplace & in some instances schools.

I have become a lot more comfortable with exploring the realms of my hair, probably due to a recent transition to the natural side & wanting to keep as much heat off as possible. Although I keep things fairly neutral, I am not as reluctant as before to show up to work sporting a new sew in or box braids. I can admit, I have had a better response in some of my more recent positions than before, however, I still have little moments of anxiety when I’ve made a change or am placed in front of someone new.

I am learning to embrace & be more confident whether I choose a straight, braided or curly style to rock. My hairstyle of choice does not interfere with my work ethic, performance, or ability to enforce expertise. By doing so, I invalidate the stereotype that my hair & appearance have any effect on my knowledge or performance.