Tangrina Minott \u201919 (CLAS), a talent recruiter for a Connecticut-based health care company, recalled the first time she asked her mother to straighten her hair in the fifth or sixth grade.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone in my predominantly Black school had straight hair and I felt the need to conform. I was happy at first, but the hair relaxers use harsh chemicals, they burn, and they leave your scalp very irritated. By 19, I was over it,\u2019\u2019 says Minott, who has chosen to adopt a natural hairstyle.<\/p>\n
As a UConn undergraduate, Bryant Dominguez \u201913 (CLAS) spent a lot of time making sure his chest-length hair looked great. But when he was applying for a competitive internship, one of his mentors told him that if he kept the hair, he probably wouldn\u2019t get the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought my hair looked really cool,\u2019\u2019 says Dominguez, a native of the Dominican Republic and now a manager at a large insurance company. \u201cI cut it that weekend. It was the saddest thing ever. I did it because I needed a job.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Connecticut Joins Eight States in Fighting \u2018Natural Hair\u2019 Discrimination<\/strong><\/p>\n Several UConn alums say that from late childhood on, they experienced pressure to straighten or cut their hair to conform to a culture that values hair styles typically associated with white people. The pressure intensified as they prepared to join the workforce, where Afro-centric hair may be considered untidy, unprofessional, or too bold for the corporate culture.<\/p>\n When Gov. Ned Lamont signed the CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act into law this week, prohibiting discrimination in the workplace or schools based on someone\u2019s natural hair, it was a victory, they say. Connecticut joins California, New York, New Jersey, and five others in passing the legislation.<\/p>\n Seanice Austin, director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the School of Business, says hair is an integral part of the conversations she\u2019s had with students for the last 20 years as they prepare for internships and jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve talked about why they can\u2019t \u2018push the envelope\u2019 when they\u2019re interviewing, and how it is important to avoid giving a company any reason not to hire you,\u2019\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile I\u2019m pleased about the CROWN Act becoming law, I do think it\u2019s an \u2018easy win\u2019 for legislators,\u2019\u2019 Austin says. \u201cThere needs to be significant legislation that addresses equity in the workplace. I hope this opens doors for that.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThe right to wear authentic hair should have been a given,\u2019\u2019 Austin says. \u201cThe fact that we have to have a law about it is telling as to where we are as a state and community.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Planning Interviews Around Hair Appointments<\/strong><\/p>\n Aigne Goldsby \u201916 JD, an attorney in Connecticut and the founder of Black Esquire, a company that seeks to increase diversity in the legal profession, says she felt the pressure to alter her hair starting in elementary school.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very real thing. I know women who will plan job interviews around when their hair is being straightened,\u2019\u2019 Goldsby says. In the legal profession, where less than 2% of attorneys are Black women, the pressure is compounded.<\/p>\n \u201cIt took a long time to wear my natural hair in that environment. It was only when I saw other women doing it that I felt empowered,\u2019\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n \u201cSociety starts to push this on us at a young age,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cI had a job interview, and the recruiter called with one day\u2019s notice, and my first thought was, \u2018Oh, my hair isn\u2019t done.\u2019 Usually in an interview you want to be as \u2018safe\u2019 as possible. A lot of Black women I know feel that way.<\/p>\n \u201cThis legislation is more broadly about acceptance of all people as who they are,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cOur society is supposed to be diverse and inclusive of everyone. This issue is very personal and important to me. Society needs to stop setting these \u2018norms.\u2019 I\u2019m excited for it and especially that this movement received attention \u00a0during Black History Month.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Professor: Authenticity in the Workplace Makes Employees Happier<\/strong><\/p>\n Management Professor Travis Grosser, who is the academic director of the master\u2019s degree program in Human Resources Management, says the legislation raises awareness about both overt discrimination and unconscious bias in the workplace.<\/p>\n \u201cI think today there is a growing appreciation and recognition of the importance of authenticity in the workplace,\u2019\u2019 he says. Companies that allow individuality – versus prescribed norms – tend to have a more positive workplace, with better engagement, lower turnover, and higher employee performance. \u201cEliminating stereotypical looks and behaviors and allowing individuality seems to be a positive for everyone,\u2019\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n Companies with a diverse workforce are more innovative, successful, and have greater consumer relatability than others, he notes.<\/p>\n \u2018This is Stupid; I Can\u2019t Do this Any More\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Kadijah McGehee \u201916 (BUS) attended a regional conference for Black business students as a college sophomore and was wearing a dress, blazer, and a blonde wig. During a discussion about attire and professionalism, she was criticized by her peers for the color of her hair.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very awkward. I felt like I was on a reality show,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cI thought \u2018Wow, this is how you guys feel?\u2019 Women of all races and ethnicities dye their hair. Why is it OK for white women to color their hair blonde, but not for me?\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n In the workplace, she would change her wigs and styles frequently and was often asked questions about her hair that made her feel uncomfortable. \u201cI\u2019d try to shrink my creativity down. It got to a point where I said, \u2018This is stupid. I can\u2019t do this anymore.\u2019 \u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of Black women feel for an interview they need to straighten their hair and lower their creativity; go for a very beige, very vanilla look,\u2019\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n At a previous job, she heard that an executive discussed her hairstyles with a team of employees behind her back. \u201cI was floored! I went to HR. It made me uncomfortable and anxiety ridden. I thought, \u2018Am I back in high school?\u2019 No one needs this layer of nonsense on top of their work responsibilities.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n She believes the CROWN Act will make companies take these complaints more seriously and offer an extra layer of support for employees.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bigger issue, the underlying problem is conformance,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cIf a company is telling its employees, \u2018We want you to look like the majority of people who work here,\u2019 and most of my co-workers are white, their hair isn\u2019t going to look like mine!\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n ‘Wear It Proudly’<\/strong><\/p>\n Minott once had a co-worker ask if she could touch her hair. \u201cI said, \u2018No, I\u2019d appreciate it if you didn\u2019t,\u2019 and she did it anyway.\u2019\u2019 When Minott complained to human resources, the response was minimal.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the workplace, you want to be treated professionally,\u2019\u2019 Minott says. \u201cI think the CROWN Act is a step in the right direction by addressing hairstyles historically associated with Black and brown people. Our hair is professional in its natural state and has nothing to do with our ability to perform in the workplace.<\/p>\n \u201cFor white women, they can wear their hair in a variety of styles, in a bun, or wear it down, and no one thinks anything of it,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cWhen you have darker skin and your hair is more Afrocentric, some see it as a statement of boldness. We\u2019re not pushing it in anyone\u2019s face. We\u2019re just coming to work. The CROWN Act symbolizes that our hair is not something to be ashamed about. Wear it proudly; that\u2019s your right.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Dominguez says it has been 10 years since his college interview, and his shorter haircut now feels right to him, and requires less maintenance. But he hopes that the law sparks more acceptance of individuality on many levels.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good that it\u2019s being talked about,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cHair doesn\u2019t take away your ability to do a task. It\u2019s good that the conversation is happening and that little by little, we\u2019re moving in a different direction.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The law is a victory for Black and Latino workers who have long felt pressure to change their natural hairstyles to conform with an unfair standard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":170201,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,1862,2235,2306],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2105],"class_list":["post-170142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-busn","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-voices"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-03 05:31:40","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170142"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177384,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170142\/revisions\/177384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/170201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170142"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=170142"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=170142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}