Black Women With Natural Hair Face Biases From Potential Employers

By Emily Reynolds Stories about discriminatory practices against Black people with natural hairstyles (e.g. afros, twists, dreadlocks, braids and cornrows) abound. At school, having natural hair has led to detention, punishment and even exclusions, and previous research has also found serious stigma around natural hair when it comes to desirability and professionalism. A new study in Social Psychological and Personality Science backs this up, finding that such biases can tangibly affect Black women’s chances with potential employers. Christy Zhou Koval at Michigan State University and Ashleigh Shelby Rosette at Duke University found that Black women with natural hairstyles were seen as less competent and less professional than White female applicants or Black applicants with straightened hair — and that they were less likely to get job interviews, too. In the first study, 480 participants imagined themselves as a recruiter, tasked with evaluating job applicants based on their Facebook profile. The applicants themselves had a wide range of different hairstyles, but fell into one of four groups: White women with curly or straight hair, and Black women with natural or straightened hair. Participants rated each applicant on professionalism and competence, and indicated how likely they would be to select the applicant for an interview. As expected, Black women with natural hairstyles were rated as less professional and less competent than Black women with straig...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Occupational Source Type: blogs