O, The Oprah Magazine - September 2019

(Frankie) #1

Getting a


Job Shouldn’t


Mean Changing


Your Hair


Introducing the CROWN Coalition: Your
hair should be as diverse as the workforce.

HOW YOU WEAR YOUR


HAIR IS 100% YOUR CHOICE


And at Dove, it’s our responsibility
to end hair discrimination once
and for all. Dove is a proud
cofounder of the CROWN
Coalition alongside the National
Urban League, Color of Change,
and Western Center on Law &
Poverty. This newly formed alliance
worked together to help pass
the CROWN Act (CA SB 188) in
California, making California
the first state to ensure that all
black people can proudly (and
comfortably) rock any style they
choose at work or school.

BEAUTY SHOULD BE UNIFYING,
NOT EXCLUSIONARY
However, unfair, race-based hair
discrimination still occurs. Traditional
hairstyles inherent to communities
of color—think braids, locs, twists,
Bantu knots, and more—have been
painted as “less professional” in
corporate-speak based on a recent
research study with 2,000 women
in the workplace. That stops now.
The passing of CA SB 188 radically
eliminates the outdated, Eurocentric
beauty and grooming policies that
no longer reflect the world around
us. Together, we hope to protect
all employees and students from
hair-based discrimination by
changing laws.

Black women
report being

80 %
more likely
to change
their hair
from its
natural state
to fit in at
the office.

In many places
in the U.S.,
it is legal to
deny a person
employment or
admittance to
school based on
their hairstyle,
even if the hair-
style is inherent
to their cultural
identity.

BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY,


ALL HAIR IS PROFESSIONAL


This initiative doesn’t end in
California. The CROWN Act has
also passed in the state of New
York, and it has been introduced
in New Jersey. Next up? A nation-
wide federal law. Ultimately, your
hairstyle choice should make
you feel uplifted, not anxious.
Let’s work together to ensure that
diversity is championed across
the board, starting today.

Black
women are

50 %
more likely to
be sent home
or know of a
black woman
sent home from
the workplace
because of
her hair.

SHANTEKA
Creative Director & Writer

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DOVE


#THECROWNACT #CROWNCOALITION @DOVE


Creating a
Respectful and
Open World for
Natural Hair

WHITNEY
Health-care & Public
Policy Professional

GARBO
Gallery & Bookstore Owner

DOVE.COM


HELP END HAIR
DISCRIMINATION.
SIGN THE PETITION AT
THECROWNACT.COM
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