Professional Women with Natural Hair....We Want to Hear from You...
When I told my peers I was going to get Sisterlocks they were excited for me and supported my decision but some made sure to let me know they could never do it because natural hairstyles are not accepted in the professional world. Sure, it hurt my feelings to hear my friends say they thought my choice was unprofessional but it did not make me question my decision.
I remember walking to the gym on day, reflecting on what we do as black women to fit into a professional environment. For many of us, it means we cannot wear our hair the way it naturally grows out of the scalp. Then I realized many of us do not even consider the fact we feel we have to chemically alter our natural hair to be considered professional. This began to bother me on another level as I tried to think of another race of people with the same dilemma but could not.
Although, I have only had Sisterlocks since March, 2010, I have been natural for 10 years working in a professional environment and can say most of my experiences have been very positive. However, natural hair has been in the news recently as the reason for disqualifying candidates for employment at Six Flags. Additionally it was not too long ago when a Glamour magazine staffer told a group of female lawyers that natural hair was not suited for a corporate environment. Given these cases, I understand why choosing to go natural could pose a legitimate concern for professional women.
Since living in the Bay Area, I have been blessed to see many women of color wearing their natural crowns in the corporate environment. Additionally, top executives, Ursula Burns, the first black female CEO at Xerox and Constance White, Style Director at Ebay are not afraid of showing their natural beauty to the world and certainly did not let the hair dilemma stand in their way!
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Crown and Temple is happy to introduce our new series, Naturally Professional. This series will examine the experiences of professional women with natural hair.
Please join Crown and Temple in welcoming our first Natural Professional of the series, Rahkia, a Writer who works for a public relations firm.
Please click the picture to read more about Rahkia's experience.
