Participants in the studies, conducted by researchers from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, considered natural black hairstyles to be less professional, and the effect was particularly pronounced in industries where a more conservative appearance is common.
The study, which will be published next week in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, shows how social benefits confirm racial discrimination in the workplace, according to a press release.
“In the aftermath of the assassination of George Floyd and the corresponding protests, many organizations have rightly focused on tactics to help eradicate racism at a systematic and structural level,” said researcher Ashleigh Shelby Rosette, a management professor and senior associate dean , released in the press.
“But our individual holding benefits often go beyond the type of racist practices that are embedded and normalized within organizations,” she added.
The biases are rooted in a standard of beauty in many Western societies based on White women and straight hair, Rosette told CNN. It also becomes the standard of perceived professionalism, and recruiters are then influenced by that standard, she said.
The studies involved hundreds of participants from various races, who were asked to screen potential job candidates in the same way as recruiters, and give them a score for competence, professionalism and other factors, based on ridiculous Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.
In three of the studies, participants were selected from the general population. The study compared attitudes in management consulting and advertising involving MBA students.
Participants gave Black women with natural hair lower scores for competence and professionalism, and did not recommend them for interviews as often, compared to Black women with straight hair, White women with straight hair, or White women with curly hair.
In one instance, two groups of participants were asked to evaluate the same Black female job candidate. While one group was shown a photo of the candidate with natural hair, the other saw a picture of her with straight hair.
The latter group gave the candidate a higher score for professionalism, and recommended them for interview more strongly.
Rosette told CNN that while it is not standard practice for job seekers to provide photos, it is incredibly easy for recruiters to find someone online.
“It would be almost an automatic thing to Google the person’s name and see what their profile looks like on social media,” she said.
Results also vary by sector. For example, black female candidates with natural hair were discriminated against when they were screened for positions in management consultation, which researchers say “has conservative legal norms.”
However, they were not discriminated against for positions in advertising.
“This may be because advertising is seen as a more creative industry than consultation with less rigid dress standards,” the press release said.
Rosette said that while some organizations remove gender or race information from job applications – a process known as permanent – they called on business leaders to be aware of bias from natural hair.
And while some people think of hair as trivial, that’s not the case, Rosette said.
“What we suggest is that black women’s hair and hair choices can be very consistent,” she said. “Hair is not just here.”
A black woman with a natural hairstyle should not be seen as an explanation, Rosette said, as it is simply the easiest, healthiest and most cost-effective way to style her hair, given the cost of straight treatments and its potential negative effects on the hair and the scalp.
The onus is not on Black women to make different decisions about hairstyle, they emphasize.
“In no way are we asking the Black woman to change who she is,” she said. “We ask that people understand that this difference exists.”
In the United States, there is growing momentum to tackle the problem.
Over the past few years, several states – including California, New York, New Jersey and Virginia – have enacted legislation that prohibits discrimination against natural Black Hair, and the U.S. Navy has also adjusted its hairstyle policies to be more inclusive.
These changes suggest “there is movement where there had not even been recognition before,” Rosette said.
Rosette, who is black, said she had straightened her hair earlier in her life, but she has not done so for more than 20 years.
“I was very worried about how I would be perceived,” she said, worrying that her styling could naturally get a negative reaction to her hair.
The next stage of research will explore the difference in perception between different natural Black capsules, she added.
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