Subscribe
Hellobeautiful Featured Video
CLOSE
Portrait of woman of African ethnicity

Source: Dani Bau / Getty

Well here’s a no-brainer, Black women with natural hair are less likely to “get job interviews,” a research report by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business suggests.

Has the world not been listening to the plight of Black women? Over the last few years as we’ve been banned from graduations over our locks, passed on by employers if our hair is too kinky or subjected to white people’s suggestion to straighten our hair to be more presentable.

MUST READ: Jurnee Smollett Says ‘Underground’ Executive Asked What She Was Going To Do With Her Natural Hair On Set

Research found employers consider natural hairstyles — including afros, twist-outs and braids — less professional.

“In the aftermath of the George Floyd murder and the corresponding protests, many organizations have rightly focused on tactics to help eradicate racism at systemic and structural levels,” researcher Ashleigh Shelby Rosette, a management professor and a senior associate dean, said in the press release via CNNBusiness.

“But our individually held biases often precede the type of racist practices that become embedded and normalized within organizations,” Rosette added.

According to the study, participants “gave Black women with natural hair lower scores for competence and professionalism.”

This secret penalization for wearing one’s hair natural is a direct reflection of European standards of beauty that perpetuate the white race as superior.

The study also showed participants screened applicants by Googling their pictures to see their appearance.

“It would almost be an automatic thing to Google the person’s name and see what their profile looks like on social media,” said Rosette.

The CROWN Act was established in 2019 to push for an end to discrimination based off of race, hair texture or protective styles. While several states — including California, New York, New Jersey and Virginia — have enacted laws to prevent these prejudices, it’s clear we have a long way to go.

Read the full report, here.

RELATED STORIES:

School Says Teen Can’t Walk For Graduation Unless He Cuts His Locs

Hulu’s New Film ‘BAD HAIR’ Takes A Deeper Look At Wearing Weaves To Conform To European Beauty Standards

The grand return of the Melanin Awards amplifies and honors the finest Black-owned beauty brands with honest reviews, and discusses the evolution of beauty in Hip-Hop culture.